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Chapter IV, 1911 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS 



BY ,s '-^' 

WILLIAM R. HOOD 

\\ 

Division of School Administration, Bureau of Education 



[Reprint from the Report of the Commissioner of Education for the year ended June 30, 1911] 



21366" 12 WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1912 






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CHAPTER IV. 
RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 

By William R. Hood, 
Division of School Administration, Bureau of Education. 



CONTENTS. 



I. Administrative changes: Size of school boards; removal from politics; business experts; professional 
control. 
n. Teachers' salaries. 

ni. Measuring the school's efficiency: Studies of elimination and retardation; professional investiga- 
tions; testing the product. 
rv. Uniformity in statistics. 

V. Physical welfare of school children: Medical inspection; school hygiene. 
VI. Secondary education: Relation to higher education; extension of the curriculum; junior high 

schools. 
VII. Special schools and classes: Open-air schools; exceptionally capable child; speech defects; present 

status. 
VTII. Industrial education: Classification; legislation; present status; vocational guidance. 
IX. Wider use of school plant: Vacation schools; lectures; social and recreation centers. 
X. Playgrounds. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In summing up tendencies in city school systems during the first 
decade of the twentieth century, the commission appointed to study 
the system of education in the public schools of Baltimore, of which 
Dr. Elmer Ellsworth Brown was chairman, said in its report:^ 

On the side of school administration certain tendencies have been apparent during 
the decade, among which the following may be mentioned- The movement to reduce 
the number of members of school boards, the increasing demand for the removal of 
the schools from the influence of partisan politics, and the employment of specialists 
in different departments of the business management and the scholastic supervision 
of the educational system. As regards the teaching force, it may be said that the 
trend has been in the direction of higher salaries and the requirement of superior 
qualifications and greater efficiency. Closer supervision, a more flexible course of 
study for high schools, provision of special classes for exceptional children, more 
varied and more specialized teaching in the upper elementary grades, a closer adap- 

1 United States Bureau of Education. Bulletin No. 4, 1911. 

115 



116 EDUCATION EEPORT, 1911. 

tation of the ordinary school work to the ordinary needs of life, and provision in con- 
tinuation schools for children who are compelled to go to work early in life are some 
features of educational endeavor that have been uppermost of late in the minds of 
our educational authorities. 

The decade has been marked by the extension of the school system to include 
various special activities, such as those of social and recreation centers, playgrounds, 
school gardens, baths, school lunchrooms, and savings banks operated, by pupils in 
school, all of which seem destined to render the school more widely serviceable to 
the people. 

Within the decade some movements of still larger significance have made notable 
headway. Perhaps the most important of these has appeared in the demand for 
vocational training. Within the past decade the emphasis in manual training has 
shifted from the cultural to the vocational aim, and now many school systems offer 
training which looks directly to a vocation in the industries. In addition to this 
industrial training, commercial courses and courses in domestic economy for girls 
have grown in popularity and are now widely offered in public schools. 

The purpose of this chapter is to state more at length the tenden- 
cies that may be traced through the last years of the decade in 
question and through the year 1910-11. It is, however, not 
attempted to give every item of progress in each city, nor to men- 
tion every possible example of items that are given, but rather to 
bring together and summarize the more significant progressive steps. 

I. ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES. 

School administration now tends toward centraUzation. This is 
seen in the reduction of the number of members of school boards and 
their appointment or election at large instead of by wards, in the 
concentration of control on the business side in business experts, 
and in the extension of professional control. 

The tendency to reduce the number of members of school boards, 
which has engaged the attention of school administrators for a score 
of years or more and which received a marked impetus in 1905, when 
Boston reduced the number of members of its school committee 
from 24 to 5, has received further momentum during the past year. 
The most notable examples of this tendency are the cities of Penn- 
sylvania; Louisville, Ky., and New York City. 

By an act of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, approved 
May 18, 1911, a new school code was adopted which entirely reor- 
ganized the public-school system of the State. Under the provisions 
of this act each city, incorporated town, borough, or township is 
constituted a separate school district, and districts thus established 
are divided into four classes according to population as shown by 
the United States census. Each separate school district is now 
administered by a ''board of school directors/' the number of mem- 
bers depending upon the class to which the district belongs. The 
classification of the different districts, with the number of directors 
to which each class is entitled under this act, is as follows : 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 117 



Class. 


Population. 


Number of 
members 
of board. 


First 


500,000 and over 


15 


Second. 


30 000 to 499 999 . . 


9 


Third 


5,000 to 29,999 


7 




Under 5,000 


5 









There are now in the State two districts of the first class — Philadel- 
phia and Pittsburgh. Fourteen cities in the State are entitled to the 
rank of district of the second class. After each Federal census the 
State superintendent of public instruction shall make a reclassifica- 
tion upon the basis of population shown. 

The number of members of the Philadelphia school board is by this 
act reduced from 21 to 15. Under the old law the central board of 
education of Pittsburgh was composed of 45 members, elected by 
the local boards of the subdistricts into which the city was divided. 
The reduction of this number to 15 involves therefore a more radical 
change than that in Philadelphia, but in some of the smaller cities 
the ratio of reduction is even greater. In Harrisburg the board for- 
merly consisted of 32 members; in Reading, of 64 members; in 
Williamsport, of 52 members. According to the census of 1910 each 
of these cities will under the new school code have a board of school 
directors consisting of 9 members only. 

In many of the cities of the State the school boards were formerly 
composed of members elected by wards or subdistricts practically 
coterminous with wards. This was the case in Pittsburgh, where the 
45 subdistricts were in most cases coterminous w^ith the wards of the 
city. Under the provisions of the new code all school directors are 
now appointed or elected at large. Sections 207 and 208, which relate 
to the eligibihty of school directors, are as follows : 

Sec. 207. Any citizen of this Commonwealth, ha\dng a good moral character, being 
twenty-one years of age or upwards, and having been a resident of the district for at 
least one year prior to the date of his election or appointment, shall be eligible to the 
office of school director therein: Provided, That any person holding the office of mayor; 
chief burgess; county commissioner; district attorney; city, borough, or township 
treasurer; city councilman; township commissioner; road supervisor; tax collector; 
comptroller; auditor; or constable — shall not be eligible as a school director in this 
Commonwealth . 

Sec 208. Any person who has held any office of trust or profit under the laws of the 
United States or of this Commonwealth, or in any county, city, borough, or township 
therein, and has been removed therefrom for any malfeasance in office, shall not be 
eligible to the office of school director. 

In districts of the first class, school directors are appointed by the 
judges of the courts of common pleas of the counties in wliich the dis- 
tricts are respectively situated. After the expiration of the terms of 



118 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

the first appointees such appointments will be made for a term of six 
years, five members being appointed every two years. In districts 
of the second, third, and fourth classes directors are elected by vote 
of the people at the regular municipal election. As in the case of 
districts of the first class the term of office is six years, and as nearly 
as possible one-third of the members are to be elected every three 
years. 

By an act approved March 4, 1910, the boards of education of 
cities of the first class in Kentucky were fixed at five members each. 
Louisville is the only city of the first class in the State. Under the 
provisions of this act the number of members of the board of education 
of that city was reduced from 16 to 5, the new board being elected by 
the vote of the people and at large instead of by wards, as was for- 
merly the custom. The term of office is four years. Elections are 
held biennially, two members being elected at one election and three 
at the succeeding election. As provided in the act, the new board 
was elected in November, 1910, and began its duties January 1, 1911. 

A bill embodying far-reaching changes in the administration of the 
public schools of the city of New York was introduced in the legisla- 
ture of the State early in 1911, but at the time of this writing it has 
not become a law. The bill provides for the enactment of a new 
charter for the city, and the chapter devoted to the department of 
education abolishes the separate corporate existence of the board of 
education and makes the board a department of the city govern- 
ment. Under the provisions of the bill the personnel of the new 
department shall consist of a president and six other members, 
who shall be known as commissioners of education. After the expi- 
ration of the initial term each member is to be appointed for a term 
of seven years, one member being appointed each year. Appoint- 
ments are to be made by the mayor of the city. The bill provides 
compensation of $10,000 a year for the president of the board and 
$9,000 a year for each of the other six members. If enacted into law, 
this biU would reduce the number of members of the school board from 
46 to 7. 

By an act of the General Court of Massachusetts approved March 
18, 1910, the number of members of the school committee of the city 
of Newton was reduced from 15 to 8. 

The final effects of the present tendency to reduce the number of 
members of school boards can not of course be foreseen, but the 
enactment of such laws as that embodied in the new Pennsylvania 
school code will without doubt give impetus to the movement. The 
Pennsylvania Code represents one of the most significant steps taken 
in recent years toward the standardization of school administrative 
units and should exert a wholesome influence on other sections of the 
country. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 119 

REMOVAL FROM PARTISAN POLITICS. 

Coincident with the reduction of the number of members of school 
boards it is usually provided that members shall be elected from the 
city at large and not as representatives of the several wards. Elec- 
tion at large is an outgrowth of the conviction that partisan politics, 
which is often found where the ward system of representation pre- 
vails, should be eliminated from the administration of school affairs. 
It is urged that boards of few members, each of whom is elected to 
represent all the people, can be kept freer from political influences 
than can boards of large membership chosen by the local electorate 
of subdistricts or wards. 

On the necessity of the removal of the schools from the influence of 
partisan politics there is unanimity among educators. The school 
system should have notliing in common with a local political machine, 
and wherever the tw^o are brought into relation the schools suffer. As 
the people come to see this fact more clearly, the demand grows for 
the complete separation of pohtics and school administration. 

It is worthy of note in this connection that the Kentucky law, to 
which reference has already been made, makes special provision 
against partisan pohtical influences in the election of members of the 
school board, though the election is held at the same time as for 
other municipal officers. No public officer, except a notary pubUc 
or an officer of the State militia, may be a member of the school 
board. Separate ballots and ballot boxes must be used for the elec- 
tion of members, and provision is made against giving voters infor- 
mation as to the pohtical affihations of any candidate. The new 
Pennsylvania Code provides that directors in cities of the first class 
shall be appointed by the judges of the courts of common pleas, thus 
seeking to remove their selection from political influences. Wliile 
the election of directors in districts of the other three classes is held 
at the regular municipal election, the qualifications for ehgibihty 
prescribed in sections 207 and 208 will tend to prevent activity on 
the part of local pohticians. 

BUSINESS EXPERTS. 

In some of the larger cities of the country experts in mercantile 
affairs are now employed, whose duties on the material side of school 
administration are coordinate with those of the superintendent on 
the educational side. This business manager, or business director, is 
the executive officer of the school board in business transactions. In 
this, Cleveland, Ohio, was the pioneer, the office of ''director of 
schools" having been in existence there since the enactment of the 
law of March 8, 1892, which reorganized the board of education. 
Indianapohs, Ind., has employed a ''business director" since 1900. 



120 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

manager" was elected in Boston at a salary of $3,780. Cincinnati 
followed in 1908 with the creation of a similar office. Houston, Tex., 
has employed a ''business representative" since 1905. 

During the past two years three other important cities have added 
such officers to their corps of administrative officials. B}^ pro^dsion 
in the act of the General Assembly of Kentucky, approved March 4, 
1910, the position of ''business director" was created in Louisville. 
In his annual report for 1910 President Alfred R. Urion, of the Chicago 
board of education, urged the adoption of a plan "whereby there 
shall be one business head charged with the full responsibihty, as is 
done on the educational side in the case of the superintendent of 
schools." In accordance with President Urion's recommendation, 
the position was created and a business manager was appointed in 
January, 1911. 

The office of "executive agent" was created in MinneapoHs, Minn., 
in 1909, but some difficulty was experienced in securing a person of 
the qualifications sought, and the position was not filled until June, 
1911. 

The rules and regulations of the board of education of that city 
prescribe the following as the duties of the executive agent, and they 
may be considered as typical of the functions of officers of this class : 

The executive agent, as provided in section 11, shall have direct supervision over 
the school properties and the maintenance thereof. He shall generally represent the 
board in all negotiations relating to the construction, reconstruction, repair, and 
maintenance of school properties. He shall supervise the purchase, receipt, and dis- 
tribution of all supplies, books, and materials, as authorized by the board. All 
requisitions for the delivery of supplies shall be approved by him. 

He shall have authority to engage and discharge such employees as are necessary 
to the conduct of the activities expressed herein and shall report thereon to the com- 
mittee on buildings and supplies for the final approval of the board. 

He shall, prior to the first regular meeting of the board in June of each year, prepare 
a list of janitors and other employees for the various schools and such list shall have 
attached thereto the salary proposed to be paid each person therein shown. Such 
list, when approved over the signature of the executive agent, shall be delivered by 
him to the committee on buildings and supplies for submission to the board. 

He sliall submit to the board monthly a report considering in appropriate detail 
information relating to the construction, reconstruction, repair, and distribution of 
school supplies, with such suggestions as may be appropriate thereto. 

He shall attend all meetings of the board and, when requested, the meetings of 
standing committees. 

He shall devote his entire time to the interests of the board, and maintain such 
regular hours as may be prescribed by the board, at its office. 

He shall give a bond for the faithful performance of his duties, in such sum as the 
board may determine. 

PROFESSIONAL CONTROL. 

On the side of professional control, the tendency has l)een toward 
closer supervision of school work and increased authority and respon- 
sibihty for the superintendent and his supervisory staff. In 1906 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 121 

the Bureau of Education reported 6,600 supervising officers and 
106,026 teachers in cities of 8,000 population and over. For the 
year 1909-10 the corresponding numbers were 11,144 and 125,246, 
respectively. Thus, during a period of ^ve years, the increase of 
supervising officers was 68.8 per cent while that of teachers was only 
18.1 per cent. The ratio of teachers to supervisors in 1906 was 16.6; 
in 1910 it was only 11.2. While the more comprehensive wording of 
the question relating to supervising officers in the schedule sent out 
in 1909 and again in 1910 resulted in an apparent abnormal increase 
over the year 1908 and previous years, this does not account alto- 
gether for the preponderance over the increase in teachers. In a 
single year, from 1909 to 1910, when the schedules used were identical, 
the increase of supervisors in cities of the same class was 10.87 per 
cent, while that of teachers was only 3.96 per cent. These figures 
of the Bureau of Education show the tendency toward a closer pro- 
fessional supervision of the schools. 

n. TEACHERS' SALARIES. 

In his annual report for 1909, Supt. Frank M. Martin, of El Paso, 
Tex., aptly stated the case of the inadequacy of teachers' salaries 
by pointing out that American cities pay their policemen more to 
take their youth to jail than they pay their teachers to keep them 
out. Supt. Martin might have expressed himself even more strongly, 
for in some cities the employees of the street-cleaning department, 
popularly known as "white wings," receive an annual wage greater 
than that of some teachers. 

It is evident, however, that the cause of tke teacher is receiving 
more consideration. Various cities report increases in salaries and 
readjustments of schedules in order to provide increased pay. From 
statistics collected and compiled by the Bureau of Education it 
appears that the average cost of teaching and supervision per pupil 
in daily attendance increased from $20.10 to $27.98, a gain of 39.2 
per cent, during the decade from 1900 to 1910. Between the years 
1908 and 1910 expenditure for supervision and teaching in cities of 
8,000 population and over increased 18 per cent, while the increase 
in the number of supervisors and teachers combined was only 11.7 
per cent. Thus expenditure for salaries is shown to be increasing 
at a more rapid rate than is the number of supervisors and 
teachers. 

In January, 1910, the board of estimate and apportionment of 
the city of New York passed a resolution providing for the appoint- 
ment of a commission ''to investigate the justice, economy, and 
adequacy of the present and proposed schedules of salaries for the 
payment of teachers of the department of education." While the 
main purpose of the commission was to investigate the matter of the 



122 



EDUCATION KEPOKT, 1911. 



equalization of salaries of men and women teachers, the whole 
question of salaries was considered, and the conditions in other large 
cities were studied. The following tables are taken from the report 
of the commission, which was made in October, 1910: 

Percentage of increase in salaries of grade teachers in certain cities between 1905 and 1910.^ 



Cities. 



Toledo 

Baltimore . . . 

St. Louis 

Jersey City.. 
Indianapolis. 
Rochester. .. 
Minneapolis . 

Detroit 

St. Paul 

Milwaukee . . 

Newark 

Providence.. 



Per cent 
increase. 



Cities. 



San Francisco. 

Cleveland 

Chicago 

Louisville 

Cincinnati 

Pittsburgh 

New Orleans.. 
Philadelphia.. 

Boston 

Buffalo 

Kansas City... 



Per cent 
increase. 



1 Report to the board of estimate and apportionment of the city of New York by the commission on 
teachers' salaries, New York, 1910. 

2 No change. 

Percentage of increase in salaries of high-school teachers in certain cities between 1905 and 

1910. 



Cities. 


Per cent 
increase. 


Cities. 


Per cent 
increase. 


Cincinnati 


50 
36 
36 
33 
26 
26 
22 
22 
18 




14 


St Paul 


New Orleans 


13 


San Francisco 


Chicago 


13 






12 


Newark 


Cleveland . 


6 


Pittsburgh 


Detroit 


9 


Jersey City 


Boston. 


0) 
0) 
0) 


St. Louis 


Buffalo 


Minneapolis * 


Kansas City... 







1 No change. 

A comparison may be made of salaries reported in 1911 to the 
Bureau of Education with those reported in 1905 by the committee 
appointed by the National Education Association to study and 
report on '^ Salaries, tenure, and pensions of public-school teachers 
in the United States." In the following table are presented the 
minimum and maximum salaries of elementary teachers in repre- 
sentative cities of 10,000 population and over which reported both 
to the committee of the National Education Association and to the 
Bureau of Education. The last two columns show increases in both 
minimum and maximum salaries. It is significant that of all the 
cities for which figures were available for comparison, only one city 
reported a decrease. 



EECENT PROGRESS TX CTTY SCHOOLS. 



123 



Comparison of minimum and maximum salaries of elementary school teachers reported 
to the Bureau of Education in 1911 with those reported to the committee of the National 
Education Association in 1905. 

CITIES OF 100,000 POPULATION AND OVER. 



Cities. 



Los Angeles, Cal 

Oakland, Cal 

San Francisco, Cal. . , 
New Haven, Conn. . , 

Chicago, 111 

Indianapolis, Ind 

New Orleans, La 

Boston, Mass 

Detroit, Mich 

Grand Rapids, Mich. 

St. Paul, Minn 

Kansas City, Mo 

St. Louis, Mo 

Newark, N. J , 

Albany, N.Y 

New York, N.Y 

Rochester, N. Y 

Syracuse, N. Y 

Cleveland, Ohio 

Columbus, Ohio 

Dayton, Ohio 

Portland, Oreg 

Philadelphia, Pa 

Pittsburgh, Pa 

Providence, R. I 

Spokane, Wash 

Milwaukee, Wis 



Minimum and 

maximum in 

1905.1 



$600. 

660. 

720. 

300. 

550. 

400. 

315. 

552. 

350. 

350. 

400. 

405. 

420. 

450. 

400. 
2 900. 

600. 

300. 

300. 

400. 

380. 

315. 

550. 
2 950. 

470. 

400. 

400. 

495. 

400. 



00- $760. 00 
00- 900.00 
00- 996.00 
00- 750.00 
00-1, 025. 00 
00- 650.00 
00- 540.00 
00-1, 080. 00 
00- 725.00 
00- 700.00 
00- 750. 00 
00- 6.30.00 
00- 700.00 
00- 900.00 
00- 700.00 
00-2, 400. 00 
00-1,440.00 



00- 
00- 
00- 
00- 
00- 
00- 



00- 
00- 
00- 
00- 



600.00 
650. 00 
750. 00 
617. 50 
630. 00 
750.00 
00-1,250.00 
00- 870.00 
750. 00 
750. 00 
720. 00 
900.00 



Minimum and max- 
imum in 1911. 



$744. 00-$l 
780. 00- 1 
840. 00- 1 
450. 00- 
650. 00- 1 



450. 
552. 
500. 
400. 
450. 
500. 
600. 
580. 
500. 
2 900. 
600. 
500. 
400. 
500. 
450. 
500. 
725. 
2 1,000. 
520. 
450. 
500. 
600. 
540. 



OO- 
00- 1 
00- 1 

00- 
00- 
00- 
00- 1 
00- 1 
00- 
00- 2 
00- 1 
00- 
00- 
00- 1 
00- 
00- 
00- 1 
OO- 1 
00- 
00- 
00- 
00- 1 
00- 1 



, 080. 00 
, 200. 00 
, 224. 00 
850. 00 
, 125. 00 
850. 00 
700. 00 
, 080. 00 
, 000. 00 
750. 00 
950. 00 
825. 00 
. 032. 00 
, 200. 00 
750.00 
, 400. 00 
, 440. 00 
800.00 
700. 00 
, 000. 00 
800. 00 
700. 00 
, 100. 00 
, 300. 00 
920. 00 
900. 00 
900. 00 
, 000. 00 
, 020. 00 



Increase in 

minimum 

salary. 



$144. 00 
120. 00 
120. 00 
150. 00 
100. 00 



135. 00 



150. 00 
50.00 
50.00 
95.00 
180.00 
130. 00 
100.00 



200.00 

100. 00 

100. 00 

70.00 

85.00 

175. 00 

50.00 

50.00 

50.00 

100. 00 

105. 00 

140. 00 



Increase in 

maximum 

salary. 



$320. 00 
300. 00 
228. 00 
100. 00 
100.00 
200. 00 
160. 00 



275. 00 
50.00 
200. 00 
195. 00 
332. 00 
300. 00 
50.00 



200.00 

50.00 

250. 00 

182. 50 

70.00 

350. 00 

50.00 

50.00 

150. 00 

150.00 

280. 00 

120. 00 



CITIES OF 25,000 TO 100,000 POPULATION. 



Waterburv, Corm 

East St. Louis, 111.... 

Terre Haute, Ind 

Topeka, Kans 

Lewiston, Me 

Holyoke, Mass 

New Bedford, Mass. . 

Kalamazoo, Mich 

St. Joseph, Mo 

Butte, Mont 

Nashua, N.H 

Camden, N. J 

Schenectady, N.Y... 
Youngstowh, Ohio... 

Erie, Pa 

Pawtucket, R. I 

Columbia, S. C 

El Paso, Tex 

Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Norfolk, Va 

Tacoraa, Wash 

Superior, Wis 



$350. 00- 
400. 00- 
425. 00- 
360.00- 
300. 00- 
400.00- 
475. 00- 
350. 00- 
315. 00- 
650. 00- 
350.00- 
400. 00- 
375. 00- 
300. 00- 
332. 50- 
360. 00- 
315. 00- 
540.00- 
360. 00- 
400.00- 
500. 00- 
427. 50- 



$650. 00 
700. 00 
650. 00 
540. 00 
500. 00 
700. 00 
750. 00 
500. 00 
592. 50 
900. 00 
450. 00 
640. 00 
550. 00 
650. 00 
570.00 
600. 00 
405. 00 
850. 00 
720. 00 
650. 00 
750.00 
665.00 



$450. 00- 
450. 00- 
540. 00- 
360. 00- 
350. 00- 
450. 00- 
550. 00- 
400. 00- 
450. 00- 
800. 00- 
400.00- 
500. 00- 
450. 00- 
400.00- 
380.00- 
400.00- 
450. 00- 
585. 00- 
480. 00- 
450. 00- 
600. 00- 
475. 00- 



$800. 00 
800. 00 
680. 00 
855.00 
600.00 
775. 00 
825.00 
700. 00 
810. 00 

1.050.00 
' 600. 00 
900. 00 
800.00 
900. 00 
712. 00 
720. 00 
540. 00 
810. 00 

1, 020. 00 
700. 00 

1, 020. 00 
712. 50 



$100. 00 

50.00 

115.00 



50.00 
50.00 
85.00 
50.00 

135. 00 

150. 00 
50.00 

100. 00 
75.00 

100.00 
47.50 
40.00 

135. 00 
45.00 

120.00 
50.00 

100.00 
47.50 



$150. 00 
100.00 
30.00 
315.00 
100. 00 
75.00 
75.00 
200.00 
217. 50 
150.00 
150. 00 
260.00 
250.00 
250. 00 
142.00 
120.00 
135.00 



300.00 
50.00 

270. 00 
47.50 



CITIES OF 10,000 TO 25,000 POPULATION. 



Sehna, Ala 

New London, Conn. 

Evanston, 111 

Richmond, Ind 

Burlington, Iowa 

Revere, Mass 

Ann Arbor, Mich 

G'-eat Falls, Mont... 
Portsmouth, N. H.. 

Plamfield, N. J 

Mlddleto^^^l, N. Y.. 

Sandusky , Ohio 

Beaver Falls, Pa 

Cranston, R. I 

Walla Walla, Wash. 
Parkersburg, W. Va. 



$400. 
300. 
600. 
475. 
285. 
400. 
325. 
712. 
300. 
475. 
400. 
300. 
360. 
351. 
600. 
340. 



00- $800. 00 
00- 650.00 
900. 00 
665.00 
570. 00 
600.00 
500. 00 
760. 00 
500. 00 
650. 00 
600. 00 
465. 00 
513.00 
507.00 
750. 00 
530.00 



00- 
00- 
00- 
00- 
00- 
50- 
00- 
00- 
00- 

oo- 

00- 
00- 
00- 
00- 



$540. 00- 
400.00- 
650.00- 
480.00- 
349. 12- 
450.00- 
350. 00- 
720. 00- 
400.00- 
600. 00- 
500.00- 
400.00- 
360.00- 
390.00- 
700. 00- 
425. 00- 



$810. 00 
709. 00 

L, 000. 00 
850. 00 
628. 42 
700.00 
725. 00 
900. 00 
650. 00 

L, 100. 00 
700.00 
650.00 
675.00 
585.00 
850.00 
675.00 



$140. 00 

100. 00 

50.00 

5.00 

64.12 

50.00 

25.00 

7.50 

100.00 

125. 00 

100. 00 

100.00 



39.00 
100.00 
85.00 



$10.00 
50.00 
100.00 
185.00 
58.42 
100.00 
225.00 
140.00 
150.00 
450.00 
100.00 
185.00 
162.00 
78.00 
100.00 
145.00 



1 Report of the committee on salaries, tenure, and pensions of public-school teachers in the United States 
to the National Council of Education. Published by the National Education Association, 1905. 

2 Men. 



124 IJDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

m. MEASURING THE SCHOOL'S EFFICIENCY. 
STUDIES OF ELIMINATION AND RETARDATION. 

A wholesome sign of progress in city school work is the wide recog- 
nition of the need of greater efficiency in the school system, with the 
effort to measure present efficiency. It is now generally admitted 
that there is need of a closer adaptation of the work of the school to 
the ordinary needs of life. It is believed that the dwindling of classes 
in the upper grades of our elementary schools, which has been often 
noted in recent years, indicates weakness in the schools at some point 
or points, and that a remedy for that weakness should be found and 
applied. This belief has led to a number of studies of the amount and 
causes of the elimination and retardation of pupils. Most notable 
among these are three that were made by Dr. Edward L. Thorndike, 
Dr. Leonard P. Ayres, and Dr. George D. Strayer, respectively. In 
1907 Dr. Elmer E. Brown, then Commissioner of Education of the 
United States, recognizing the need of an intensive and thorough 
study of the extent and causes of the withdrawal of pupils from 
school, engaged Prof. Edward L. Thorndike, of Teachers CoUege, 
Columbia University, to prepare for the Bureau of Education a 
monograph on that subject. The result was '^ Bulletin, 1907, No. 4: 
The Elimination of Pupils from School," a work which attracted 
wide attention and marked the beginning of the more recent interest 
in the subject. In this study Prof. Thorndike's effort was mainly to 
show the amount of elimination. The results of his investigation are 
summarized in the following statement: 

I estimate that the general tendency of American cities of 25,000 population and 
over is, or was about 1900, to keep in school out of 100 entering pupils 90 till grade 4, 
81 till grade 5, 68 till grade 6, 54 till grade 7, 40 till the last grammar grade (usually the 
eighth, but sometimes the ninth, and rarely the seventh), 27 till the first high-school 
grade, 17 till the second, 12 till the third, and 8 till the fourth. 

In 1909 the KusseU Sage Foundation of New York City, published^ 
a monograph on the retardation and elimination of pupils from school, 
which presented results materially differing from those obtained by 
Prof. Thorndike. This difference was due to different methods 
employed in obtaining the number of pupils entering school in a given 
year, which number must be found before the amount of retardation 
can be determined. Prof. Thorndike calculated the number of enter- 
ing pupils by taking the average of the enrollment in the first three 
grades and making slight corrections. Dr. Ayres obtained the num- 
ber entering by applying to present enrollment certain percentages 
which were obtained by taking into account retardation, elimination, 
and increase in population. The difference in results as pointed out 
by Dr. Ayres is shown in the following table: 

' Ayres, Leonard P., Laggards in our schools. New York, 1909. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 125 

Per cent of pupils entering school who continue to the final elementary grade in 16 cities. 



Cities. 



Baltimore . . 
Boston 

Chicago 

Cleveland . . 

Denver 

Jersey City . 
Kansas City 
Los Angeles 



Thorn- 
dike. 



14.4 
47.0 
35.0 
33.1 
44.0 
20.4 
49.4 
45.1 



Ayres. 



29.3 
59.3 
52.3 
47.6 
68.8 
44.7 
67.4 
49.7 



Cities. 



Minneapolis 

Newark 

New York 

Paterson 

St. Louis (white) 
Springfield, Mass 

Trenton 

Wilmington 



Thorn- 
dike. 



32.0 
25.0 
33.7 
19.4 
21.0 
38.5 
30.6 
39.0 



Ayres. 



02.4 
28.0 
42.6 
36.1 
42.3 
56.6 
38.0 
05.0 



The differences indicated are surprising, but both authors agree 
that b}^ far too small a percentage of pupils fail to complete the course 
in the elementary grades, and both have exerted a wide influence on 
efforts at the measurement of the school's efficiency. It is largely 
through such studies that the waste places will be found, causes will be 
discovered, and means will be devised for correcting the school's faults. 

Already a decided impetus has been given to the study of the 
problem, as a perusal of recent annual reports of city superintendents 
wiU show. Of about 100 such reports from important cities about 
one-half discussed elimination or retardation or both. Most of these 
discussions are illuminating and all represent earnest study; many of 
them show the amount of elimination and retardation, mention 
causes, and propose remedies. The causes of withdrawals from 
school vary with different cities, depending in large measure upon 
economic and social conditions and upon the general educational spirit 
of the community, but in general it may be said that there are many 
elements common to aU cities. Supt. Kandall J. Condon, of Providence, 
R. I., found that of 122 grammar-school graduates who did not enter 
the Providence high schools upon their graduation in February, 1910, 
''the majority had a definite reason for not attending high school," 
but 'kittle time or attention had been directed toward their imme- 
diate or future work." 

In 1909-10, 969 pupils withdrew from the public schools of Cov- 
ington, Ky. Supt. Homer O. Sluss found the cause of withdrawal 
of aU but 51. He says: 

The statistical table shows that 409, or 9.2 per cent, of the total enrollment and 42.2 
per cent of the total number of withdrawals moved out of the city, indicating a large 
shifting population; 198 withdrew on account of personal illness; 53 because of illness 
in the family and 5 because of failing eyesight; 25 withdrew because of financial 
conditions of the home, while 128 others left school to seek employment; 33 withdrew 
because of indifference; 12 because of failure to secure promotion, and 6 because of 
incapacity to do the work. 

Savannah, Ga., offers an example of the causes of withdrawal in a 
city in which there is no compulsory education law in force. For the 
1,203 withdrawals of white pupils in that city in 1909-10, Supt. Otis 
Ashmore found the following causes: ''Death, 6; iU health, 140; 
removal from city, 341; transfer to other schools in system, 260; 



126 EDUCATION REPOKT, 1911. 

bad behavior, 52; to go to work, 91; nonattendance, 191: failure to 
keep up with grade, 55; change of grade, 67." 

The foregoing extracts show a decided interest in the study of the 
causes of elimination; the causes of retardation, though more elusive, 
have recently received even more attention. One of the most note- 
worthy studies of these causes was that made by Supt. William H. 
Maxwell, of New York City. Early in the school year 1909-10 Supt. 
Maxwell appointed eight committees of principals to study the whole 
question and report to him. Dr. Maxwell's summary of their findings 
is worthy of quotation: ^ 

The eight committees were in substantial accord in stating that the following are 
the chief causes of failure on the part of pupils to secure regular promotion from grade 
to grade. The causes, however, are not stated in any order of intensity: 

Irregular attendance, due to poor home conditions; looseness of parental control; 
ignorance of parents; lack of opportunities for home study; poverty of home requir- 
ing pupils' assistance; sickness of other members of the family; lack of proper cloth- 
ing; feeble health of individual pupils; poverty of surroundings. 

Truancy, which is attributed by the principals to three chief causes: Lack of sup- 
port by the courts in enforcing the compulsory-education law, lack of cooperation of 
parents, and lack of a sufficient number of attendance officers. 

Ignorance of the English language, due to foreign birth and to the fact that English 
is not the language of the home. 

Late entrance into school, due to two causes: The presence of immigrant children, 
and the fact that many children are sent to private schools before they enter the pub- 
lic schools. 

Transfer from school to school. — Such transfers involve loss of time owing to varia- 
tions in the interpretation of the course of study and syllabuses and in following 
different sequences of topics in different schools and frequently to delay in entering 
school after removal from one school district to another school district. 

Physical defects. — These are caused or intensified by lack of medical care; nervous 
troubles; adenoid growths and enlarged tonsils; defective eyes, ears, and teeth; 
malnutrition; physical precocity; lack of play and exercise; unsanitary conditions. 

Sluggish mentality. — Sometimes this feature takes the form of positive mental defect 
and sometimes it characterizes pupils as slow in receptivity and response. Some- 
times it takes the form of moral defects, such as dishonesty, lying, and cheating, 
which are intensified by improper reading, the following of bad examples, and petty 
defiance of law in the streets. 

Excessive size of classes, which prevents teachers giving necessary individual 
instruction. 

Prolonged or frequent absences of teachers, during which their classes are taught by 
substitutes who are sometimes indifferent and sometimes inefficient. 

Part time, which prevents pupils from doing the work of the lower grades thor- 
oughly. 

Varying standards of rating pupils. — Some principals and teachers adopt too high a 
standard ; some too low a standard . 

Inefficient teaching, due to teachers' talking and doing too much for their pupils; 
lack of thoroughness; obsolete aims and methods in teaching on the part of some of 
the older teachers; occasional lack of the power of discipline; neglect of opportunity 
afforded by the study period to teach children how to study. 

Improper methods of promotion, due to unnecessarily holding back pupils; not mak- 
ing promotions with sufficient frequency; and to differing standards of promotion. 

1 Twelfth annual report of the city superintendent of schools, to the board of education of the City of 
New York for the year ending July 31, 1910, pp. 80-81. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 127 

The latest comprehensive study of the subject of eUmination and 
retardation is that embodied in Bulletin, 1911, No. 5, of the Bureau of 
Education, entitled ''Age and grade census of schools and colleges,'^ 
by Dr. George D. Strayer, of Teachers College, Columbia University. 
Dr. Strayer obtained the number of entering pupils by assuming 
that number to be approximate^ equal to the number in the largest 
age group in any one grade, found from an age census taken in 1908 
at a time when a practically normal number of pupils were present. 
Proceeding on this assumption he obtained results which show a 
high rate of elimination and retardation. His conclusions for the 
elementary grades are contained in the following quotation: 

In general it may be said that there is relatively little elimination during the first 
four grades. The amount of elimination for these grades will, hovv^ever, vary greatly 
among the several cities. From the fifth grade on elimination becomes a prominent 
factor, reducing the number of children in a grade, especially the number of repeaters. 
It will be noticed that the median per cent of the largest age group found in the fifth 
grade varies from 95 to 100. This does not mean that 95 per cent of the total number 
of children who enter school during the year equals the number of children who enter 
the fifth grade during this year, but rather that the number of the children entering 
the grade plus those who are repeating it amount to from 95 per cent to 100 per cent 
of the number entering school during the current year. These figures indicate the 
median, and it must be remembered that in half the cities there were less than this 
per cent in the grade, and that in half the cities more than this per cent were found 
in the fifth grade. For the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades it would seem, from 
careful study of a few cities recentlj^ made by graduate students in Teachers College, 
Columbia University, that a fair estimate of the number of repeaters in the sixth, 
seventh, and eighth grades would be 12 per cent of the total number in the grade for 
the sixth grade, 10 per cent for the seventh grade, and 8 per cent for the eighth grade. 
If these corrections are applied to the tables given above, it is possible to estimate 
-fairly accurately the elimination in these grades. For example, omitting repeaters, 
the percentage of boys in cities of more than 25,000 population in the entering group 
who actually enter a sixth grade would be represented by a median of 73 per cent; 
the seventh grade by a median of 55 per cent; while the eighth grade would show a 
median of approximately 42 per cent. That is, in half of the cities we might expect 
to find less than 73 per cent of the entering group who have actually entered the 
sixth grade during the current year, while in half the cities the percentage would be 
larger. For one-half of the cities 55 per cent or less of the number entering school 
entered the seventh grade during the current year, and for one-half of the cities 55 
per cent or more of the entering group entered the seventh grade during the same year. 
For the eighth grade the point of division falls at 42. 

Such studies as have been indicated here should result in a better 
and more general understanding of the whole question of the school's 
efficiency or inefficiency, and in the end will make for a proper 
adjustment of the school to meet the demands of the community. 

PROFESSIONAL INVESTIGATIONS. 

Another method of approach to the task of measuring the school's 
efficiency is to be seen in the recent investigations of individual city 
sj^stems by professional educators or experts. Two such investiga- 
tions have marked the year 1911, one in Baltimore and the other in 
New York City. 



128 EDUCATION BEPORT, 1911. 

At a meeting on January 25, 1911, the board of School commission- 
ers of the city of Baltimore adopted a resolution providing ''that the 
committee on rules, curriculum, and textbooks be, and it is hereb}^, 
directed to employ a commission of three disinterested and competent 
persons to investigate and report upon the system of instruction now 
in force in the public schools of Baltimore city and to spend a sum not 
exceeding $2,000 for this purpose." Pursuant to the provisions of 
the resolution the committee secured the services of Dr. Elmer Ells- 
worth Brown, Commissioner of Education of the United States; Dr. 
Ell wood P.Cubberley, professor of the theory and history of education 
in the Lei and Stanford Junior University, and Dr. Calvin N. Kendall, 
superintendent of schools, Indianapolis, Ind., as members of the 
commission. The commission and their assistants, ^Ir. M. B. Hille- 
gas, editor in the Bureau of Education, and Dr. Harlan Updegraff, 
specialist in school administration in the same bureau, spent several 
v/eeks during the spring and early summer studying conditions in 
Baltimore and comparing data obtained from the study with those 
of other cities of the same class. The results of the study are em- 
bodied in Bulletin, 1911, No. 4, of the United States Bureau of Edu- 
cation. Summarized, the conclusions of the commission are as 
follows : 

(1) That the system of school administration under the charter of 1898 is preferable 
to that of the older charter, under which the members of the larger school board were 
chosen by the city council, there being one member from each ward. 

(2) That expenditures for schools in Baltimore are comparatively low, 

(3) That, while there is ground for adverse criticism at some points in the system, 
in general the schools of Baltimore are "moving in the right direction." 

(4) That, generally speaking, the teaching force is efficient, but that the system of 
promotional examinations should be maintained. 

(5) That the corps of supervisors is insufficient in number. 

(6) That the teachers should receive higher salaries. 

(7) That the course of study and time schedule should be revised at some minor 
points. 

(8) That the general discipline in the schools is good and that coeducation of the 
sexes in the elementary schools, to which some objection had been made in Baltimore, 
is general in the larger cities. 

(9) That many of Baltimore's schoolhouses are in an unsatisfactory condition. 

A similar study of an individual school system is that of the New 
York City schools, which is in progress at the time of this writing. 
This investigation was begun in June, 1911, under the direction of 
the board of estimate of the city, and is under the supervision of Dr. 
Paul H. Hanus, professor of the history and art of teaching in Har- 
vard University. The university has granted Prof. Hanus a year's 
leave of absence, and the greater part of the period is to be devoted 
to the investigation. One of the main purposes of the city authori- 
ties in securing the services of an educational expert to study their 



RECENT PEOGPvESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 129 

schools was that the course of study might be examined in all its 
phases and if possible made more practical. Another object in view 
was that the system of administration, including professional control, 
might be subjected to close constructive criticism. This effort in 
New York accentuates the growing conviction that a closer adapta- 
tion of school work to the ordinary needs of life is necessary. 

TESTING THE PRODUCT. 

A third side from which the measurement of the school's efficiency 
has been approached is represented by the effort to establish a stand- 
ard of attainment for the average child in each grade. How much 
arithmetic should the average child in the fourth grade, or any other 
grade, know ? How much geography should he know ? How much 
spelling? How much arithmetical or spelling ability should he pos- 
sess ? It is to these questions that an answer is sought by those who 
would set up standards of attainment by which the product of the 
schools may be measured. 

One of the earlier efforts in this direction was a study made by 
Dr. Cliff W. Stone,^ then fellow in Teachers College, Columbia Uni- 
versity, and now professor in the State Normal School, Farmville, 
Va. Dr. Stone's purpose was indicated by the two questions to 
which he directed his attention: *'(1) What is the nature of the 
product of the first six years of arithmetic work ? (2) What is the 
relation between distinctive procedure in arithmetic work and the 
resulting abilities V^ 

Through the cooperation of superintendents and principals a series 
of tests was made of the arithmetical abilities of pupils in the 6 A 
grade in 26 school systems. These tests were given in both fundamen- 
tal operations and reasoning, and the scores made were tabulated. 
From the figures thus obtained were computed median scores whicli 
may serve as standards for the measurement of arithmetical abilities 
in 6A grade in any school system. 

In 1910 Prof. Edward L. Thorndike, of Teachers College, Columbia 
University, published a monograph on handwriting, similar in pur- 
port to that of Dr. Stone on arithmetical abilities. His purpose was 
''to describe the means by which a graphometer or scale for hand- 
writing may be made, to present such a scale for the handwriting of 
children in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8, to explain how such a scale is to be 
used, to present a similar scale for adult women's handwriting, and 
to mention some of the facts and questions of importance to whicli 
the discovery and use of these scales have led." Following this pur- 

1 stone, Cliff Winfleld. Arithmetical abilities and some factors determining them. Columbia Univer- 
sity Contributions to Education, Teachers College Series. New York, 1908. 

13144°— ED 1911— VOL 1 9 



130 EDUCATION EEPORT, 1911. 

pose, Dr. Thorndike proceeded to the determination of a standard 
through a number of ratings by different judges of 1,000 samples of 
chiklren's handwriting. Some 18 different groups, or quahties, were 
conceived and the samples were rated as belonging to one or another 
of these groups, each group being considered slightly better than the 
next lower and slightly inferior to the next higher. By rating sam- 
ples as belonging to one or another of a long series of qualities, Dr. 
Thorndike maintains that a more accurate classification is secured 
than would be with a haphazard rating, and in this way a fairly 
accurate standard can be had. 

A more recent effort, and one designed to secure a wider range of 
data, is that now being made by Mr. S. A. Courtis, head of the depart- 
ment of science and mathematics in the Detroit (Mich.) Home and 
Day School. Like Dr. Stone, Mr. Courtis seeks a standard of meas- 
urement of arithmetical abilities. 

IV. UNIFORMITY IN STATISTICS. 

For years the need of uniformity of methods in the collection of 
statistics and of the standardization of units of measurement has 
been felt. In some of the earher reports of the National Education 
Association may be found discussions of this need. The latest effort, 
and that which is already w^oll under w^ay toward some measure of 
attainment, has been that of the Bureau of Education working in 
conjunction with the Department of Superintendence of the National 
Education Association, the Bureau of the Census, and the National 
Association of School- Accounting Officers. 

At a meeting of the Department of Superintendence in Indian- 
apolis, in February, 1910, a committee on miiform records and 
reports was appointed and instructed to report at the next meeting 
of the department. This committee was composed of Hon. Payson 
Smith, State superintendent of pubhc instruction of Maine, chair- 
man; Dr. George D. Strayer, of Teachers College, Columbia Uni- 
versity; Mr. Wilham H. Elson, superintendent of city schools, Cleve- 
land, Ohio; Mr. E. C. Warriner, superintendent of cit}^ schools, Sagi- 
naw, Mich. ; and Mr. Charles M. Lamprey, director of the model school 
of the Boston Normal School. 

At the suggestion of school-accounting officers in several important 
cities of the country and upon invitation by the Commissioner of 
Education, a number of such accounting officers and other experts 
in fiscal statistics met on May 17, 1910, at the Bureau of Education 
in Washington and organized the National Association of School- 
Accounting Officers. A committee on standardization was ap- 
pointed, and it was decided to cooperate with other agencies for the 
purpose of securing uniformity in school accounting and reporting. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 131 

Among those present at the organization of this association were 
three representatives of the Bureau of Education, the same number 
from the Bureau of the Census, and two members of the committee 
of the Department of Superintendence. At this meeting impetus 
and direction were given to the movement for uniformity of fiscal 
statistics. 

In May and in December, 1910, and again in January, 1911, con- 
ferences were hekl by the representatives of the organizations named, 
at which two lines of work were mapped out — one looking toward the 
preparation of a system of record cards to be used by teachers and 
local school authorities in securing the basal data for attendance 
statistics and the like; another, looking toward the preparation of a 
schedule to be used generally in the collection of fiscal statistics. 
The object in preparing the record card was to provide means by 
wliich the records made by teachers in the schoolroom could be 
expressed in common terms, for, it was pointed out, the very foun- 
dation on which all attendance statistics must be based is faulty 
unless the records made by teachers are rechiced to some common 
standard. The object in preparing the fiscal schedule was twofold: 
(1) To secure uniformity in accounting and in the collection of fiscal 
statistics, in order that such statistics might be made of more value 
for purposes of comparison, and (2) to show items of cost by types 
of schools and by function. 

Tentative forms of both record cards and fiscal schedules were 
agreed upon at the conferences, and the Bureau of Education under- 
took to send them out to school officials for their opinions and sug- 
gestions. As results of this referendum, a large majority of the 
school officials of the country were shov/n to favor the plan, and 
valuable suggestions were received, which were taken into account 
in the final draft of the forms. 

The forms as agreed upon as a result of the conferences and the 
submission to school men for suggestion were reported by the com- 
mittee to the Department of Superintendence at its meeting in 
Mobile, Ala., in February, 1911, and were recommended for use. The 
report was adopted by the department. The Bureau of Education 
sent out for approval a complete system of record keeping, compris- 
ing a series of five cards. The committee, however, made report on 
only the first of the series, but will make further report at the next 
meeting of the department. The cumulative record card, which is 
card No 1 of the series, follows. 



132 



EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 
[obverse.] 



1. 1. Last name. 2. First name and initial. 


ELEMENTARY SCHOOL REC- 
ORD SYSTEM— ADMISSION. 
DISCHARGE, AND PROMOl 
TION CARD. 


3. Place of birth. 


4. Dato of birth. 


5. Vaccinated. 


To be kept for every pupil and 
sent with the pupil when he is trans- 
ferred to any school, either public 
or private, in the city or outside 


G. Name ofparent or guardian. 


7. Occupation of parent or guardian. 


the city. Great care .should be 
used to have the names Complete 
and Correct. 

Write all dates as follows: 
1912-9-25. 


8. Residence. (Use one column at a time. Give new residence when 


9. Date of dis- 
charge. 


10. Age. 


pupil is transferred.) 


Years. 


Months." 









































































When a pupil is permanently discharged to work, to rem.ain at home, or because of death, permanent 
illness, or commitment to an institution, this card is to be returned 1o the principal's oilico and a full state- 
ment of the cause of the pupil's discharge is to be made in the blank space remaining above. 

[reverse.] 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECORD SYSTEM— PROMOTION RECORD. 

This card is to pass from teacher to teacher or from school to school as the pupil is promoted or transferred. 
It is to he filled out and sent to the principal's office when any change is made requiring a change in the 
office records. It is then to be sent to the teacher who has the pupil. 



a 

School. 


b 

Date of admis- 
sion. 


c 

Age Sept. 1. 


d 

Grade. 


e 

Room. 


f 

Days 
present. 


g 

Health. 


Con- 
duct. 


i 

Schol- 
arship. 




Years. 


Months. 




















































































































































































1 
1 


















1 


















1 


















1 


















1 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 133 

The wide circulation of this form of record card by the Bureau of 
Education and its adoption by the Department of Superintendence 
have given decided impetus to the use of such a system. During the 
past few months this office has received many inquiries relative to it 
and many requests for samples. When it is in general use a long step 
will have been taken toward the standardization of attendance sta- 
tistics. 

The form of fiscal schedule for use in city school systems as adopted 
by the Department of Superintendence and modified in minor 
details is presented in the chapter devoted to city school systems in 
the second volume of this report. This form has been sent out this 
year for the double purpose of securing the statistics for the fiscal 
year 1910-11 and to lead school authorities to adopt a system of 
accounting in conformity with it. 

Explanatory of the schedule a fist of definitions was prepared and 
sent to school officers receiving the schedule. The more important of 
these definitions had received consideration by the participants in the 
conferences mentioned above. While they were intended merely to 
explain the items of the schedule, taken with the schedule itself they 
will serve to show in outhne the system of school accounting neces- 
sary to secure uniformity in fiscal statistics in accordance with the 
plan agreed upon by the several agencies working to that end. A 
large number of school officials have already signified their intention 
to modify their systems of accounting to conform with the fiscal 
schedule described. 

V. THE PHYSICAL WELFARE OF SCHOOL CHILDREN. 

There is probably no subject in all the field of educational thought 
that has engaged more of the attention of school men in recent years 
than the physical welfare of school children. The conviction is 
growing that the school should minister to the physical as well as 
to the mental side of the child and that ph3^sical soundness in children 
m^akes for efficiency in study. That physical defects are potent 
factors in producing irregular attendance, truancy, backwardness, 
and withdrawal from school is now generally understood, and school 
authorities are endeavoring to discover, if not to correct, these 
defects. Efforts in behalf of the health of school children have 
been marked by the introduction of medical inspection, the improve- 
ment of sanitation and school hygiene, and the provision of special 
rooms and schools for the more pronounced types of the physically 
unfortunate. 

MEDICAL INSPECTION. 

As early as 1890 San Antonio, Tex., gave some expert medical 
attention to the schools. In that year an epidemic of smallpox 
broke out in the city and necessarily the attention of the board of 



134 EDUCATION EEPOETj 1911. 

health was required among school children. The board of '^ sani- 
tary inspectors'' cooperated with the school authorities in stamping 
out the disease, and since that time medical attention to the schools 
has been continued. But it was in Boston, Mass., which began 
medical inspection in 1894, that im^petus and direction were given 
to the movement. In his annual report for 1895 Supt. Edwin P. 
Seaver, after giving the number and character of contagious diseases 
discovered and isolated, said: 

The other diseases discovered and for which the necessity for treatment was pointed 
out were are follows: Abscess, 22; catarrh, 244; cellulitis, 12; chorea, 11; colds 
with more or less bronchitis, 224; debility, 63; diseases of the eye, 389; diseases 
of the ear, 35; diseases of the skin and scalp, 186; diseases of the throat and mouth, 
3,489; epilepsy, 5; fracture of collar bone, 1 ; headache, 171; indigestion, 42; malaria, 
17; nausea, 50; Pott's disease, 3; swollen glands, 133; ulcers, 16; wounds, 21; mis- 
cellaneous diseases, 411; examined for vaccination, 117. 

From this statement of Supt. Seaver it is evident that the system 
of inspection as begun in Boston did not differ materially in purpose 
and scope from that now in practice in many cities. 

From these early beginnings the movement for the medical inspec- 
tion of school children spread, until in 1911 the department of child 
hygiene of the Russell Sage Foundation, which has made the most 
recent and thorough statistical study of the subject^ found that 
of 1,038 cities reporting, 443 had medical inspection. According 
to the same report there were only 23 such cities in 1902. The 
figures for the year 1911 show that most progress has been made 
in the cities of the North Atlantic and Western Divisions. Of those 
reporting, the percentage of cities having medical inspection v/as 
as follows: North Atlantic Division, 58 per cent; South Atlantic, 
31 per cent; South Central, 35 per cent; North Central, 29 per 
cent; Western, 57 per cent. Of the 50 cities having a population 
of 100,000 or over in 1910, 48 reported to the Russell Sage Founda- 
tion and 45 of this number had medical inspection. 

In its earlier beginnings the work of inspection was generally under 
the supervision of boards of health, but in more recent years control 
has largely shifted to the educational authorities. On this point 
the Russell Sage Foundation finds that of the 443 cities reporting 
inspection in 1911, 337 report administration by the board of edu- 
cation and 106 by the board of health. 

Medical inspection varies in scope and completeness. In some 
cities little more than the detection and isolation of contagious dis- 
eases is attempted, while in the more elaborate systems regular 
examinations of all children are made at intervals and with a view 
to discovering all forms of ailments. Teeth, eyes, ears, nose, throat, 
lungs, and other parts of the body are examined and diagnoses 
made accordingly. The most general practice is to notify parents 

> Rtissell Sage Foundation. What American cities are doing for the health of school children. New 
York, 1911. 



EECENT PKOGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 135 

when some ailment is discovered, but in some cities clinics are estab- 
lished for the free treatment of children whose parents are unable to 
provide proper medical attention. School nurses are employed in a 
number of cities to follow up the work of the examining physician by 
visitation of homes and cooperation with both school authorities and 
parents. The following statement, quoted from the annual report 
for 1910 of Supt. Frank B. Dyer, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a good 
description of a well-organized medical inspection s^^stem in a large 
American city: 

In Cincinnati the medical inspection of schools is conducted by the board of health, 
who instituted it on January 1, 1907. The district physicians serve as a corps of 
inspectors. Their duties are to examine and report upon the sanitary condition of 
each school and yard, and to put themselves into communication with the princi- 
pals of their respective schools each day. All pupils whom the principal or teacher 
considers in need of medical attention are referred to these inspectors. The recom- 
mendations of the inspectors are carried out by the principal, who notifies parents 
or guardians and excludes from school when directed. When home treatment is 
not given according to suggestions, the school nurse follows up the case and secures 
home cooperation. A daily notice is sent to each school by the board of health, 
giving information concerning all the children of the city who are excluded for con- 
tagious diseases, and also a list of those who are permitted to return. There are 25 
medical inspectors and 5 nurses. The number of visits made by medical inspectors 
during the year 1909-10 was 4,207; number of pupils examined, 22,932; number 
excluded from school, 1,606. The work of the nurses is found to be of great impor- 
tance, and the present number is inadequate to meet the needs. In a great many 
cases the home pays but little attention to the recommendation of the medical inspector 
unless the nurse follows up the case and secures proper attention. In at least 85 per 
cent of the cases visited by the nurses the cooperation of the home has been secured. 
The system is growing in efficiency year by year, and has now been extended to 
include the parochial schools of the city. 

A phase of inspection that has received especial emphasis in recent 
years is the examination of teeth. Such examinations are usually 
inaugurated by a society of dentists in the city, and in most cities 
where found are still conducted by such societies. The general 
practice is to examine the teeth, chart the results, and send appro- 
priate recommendations to parents. In several cities free dental 
clinics are maintained for the treatment of children of indigent 
parents. 

Of 36,403 children examined in Cleveland, Ohio, in March, 1909, 
76.7 per cent were found to have teeth more or less defective. Of 
5,514 similarly examined in Cincinnati in 1910, only 958 were found 
with no defect. If these two cities may be taken as typical, the need 
of dental inspection in schools is palpable. 

SCHOOL HYGIENE. 

Phases of school hygiene that have been of the most interest in the 
past few years have been the movement to abolish the common 
drinking cup, the provision of better equipment for the elimination 



136 



EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 



of dust and dirt, and the installation of more hygienic school fur- 
niture. Here again the report of the Russell Sage Foundation con- 
tains the latest information that approaches completeness. 

To displace the old drinking cup, which was used by all in common 
and which has been considered frequently responsible for the spread 
of disease, have come the individual drinking cup and the bubbling 
fountain from which thirst can be quenched without the use of an 
accessory vessel. The larger percentage of the cities from which 
reports were received supply at least a part of their schools with 
sanitary drinking fountains. The following brief summary shows to 
what extent the common cup has been abolished: 

Number of cities ivhere the schools are supplied with sanitary drinhing fountains andindi- 

viduul drinhing cups. 



Divisions. 


Number 
of cities 
supplying 
individual 
drmking 
cups. 


Number 
of cities 

supplying 
sanitary 

fountains. 


North Atlantic 


97 
20 
38 
97 
12 


316 


South Atlantic 


54 


South Central 


67 


North Central 


286 


Western 


62 






United States 


2G4 

• 


785 







Provisions for the elimination of dust and dirt are to be found in 
the form of moist cloths, dust- absorbing compounds for sweeping, 
and vacuum cleaning appliances. The Russell Sage Foundation 
reports that 643 of the 1,038 cities reporting use moist cloths and 
that 894 use dust-absorbing compounds. In 87 cities vacuum 
cleaners are used. By these means the dust and dirt are entirely 
removed instead of merely stirred up by the old-fashioned broom and 
feather duster. 

The following table shows the extent to which adjustable desks are 
used: 

Number of cities having adjustable desks in their schools. 



Divisions. 


Number 

having 

adjustable 

desks. 


Per cent 

having 

adjustable 

desks. 


North Atlantic 


257 
15 
25 

105 
26 


63 


South Atlantic 


20 


South Central 


25 


North Central 


28 


Western 








United States 


428 









In order to show the status of medical inspection and schoolroom 
hygiene in the country at the present time, the summary prepared 
by the Russell Sage Foundation is presented here in full. When it 



EECENT PKOGKESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 



137 



is considered that in 1905 there were only 55 cities in the country 
having medical inspection, and that in a large percentage of these the 
system was imperfectly organized, some idea of the recent progress in 
the matter of caring for the health of school children can be had. 
The table shov/s, by States and for the country as a whole, the present 
status of both medical inspection and school hygiene. 



Summary of provisions J 


or health of children in public schools, 


1911. 


1 




States. 


.2 
o to 

•3.3 
P 


ll 
ll 

03-'-' 


I3 


9 03 « 

|83 


>' 


Pi 

> 


n. 


1: 


&3i 

ill 


si 

= 1 


el 
it 


2 ■•+3 

S.-S 
5 


United States 


1,038 


443 


405 


552 


258 


214 


106 


337 


1,415 


415 


69 






North Atlantic Division 


411 

74 

101 

382 

70 


236 
23 
35 

109 
40 


224 
23 
34 
93 
31 


261 
29 
43 

182 
37 


125 
12 
23 
73 
25 


135 
10 
12 
38 
19 


58 

7 

12 

21 

8 


178 
16 
23 
88 
32 


852 
48 
41 

417 
57 


261 
11 
5 

114 
24 


24 


South Atlantic Division 


8 


South Central Division 


3 


North Central Division 


30 


Western Division . . 


4 






North Atlantic Division: 
Maine 


19 
12 

7 
108 
16 
25 
77 
47 
100 

1 
5 
13 
10 
15 
U 
13 
6 

19 
6 
9 
6 
8 

31 
9 

13 

68 
51 
53 
42 
41 
24 
29 
24 
6 
6 
12 
26 

G 
3 

12 
3 
4 
4 
1 
3 

10 
5 

19 


8 
3 

"ib'i' 

8 
15 
20 
47 

28 

1 
1 
4 
2 
5 
4 
5 
1 

7 
4 
3 


6 

? 

103 
7 

15 
22 
47 
21 

1 

; 

3 

4 
4 
5 
1 

6 
3 
3 


18 

7 

7 

104 

5 

21 

51 

. 12 

36 

1 

""s 

12 
1 
2 
3 

7 
4 
3 
2 
4 
14 
3 
6 

28 

31 

22 

24 

27 

10 

15 

7 

3 

3 

4 

8 

2 

i! 

1 
3 
3 
1 
3 
3 
2 
7 


4 
3 


4 
2 


...... 


8 
2 


13 
11 


...... 


2 




1 


Vermont 






2 

6 

7 

17 

45 

21 

1 

1 

2 

...... 

3 
3 

1 

5 
3 
3 


57 
22 
5 
13 
40 
12 

2 
3 


23 
3 
11 
12 

""s 

1 
1 
1 

i 

2 

1 

2 
2 


84 

5 

4 

8 

47 

20 

"""3" 
2 
5 
3 
3 


348 
20 
26 
197 
117 
120 

18 
5 

12 
1 
3 
5 
4 


49 

1 

7 

160 

30 

13 


'9 


Rhode Island... 


1 


Connecticut 


1 


New York. . 


4 




2 


Pennsylvania. . . 


4 


South Atlantic Division: 
Delaware. 


1 






Virginia 


i 






North Carolina. . . 


4 


South Carolina 


1 


Georj^ia... 




Florida 


1 


South Central Division: 
Kentucky 


5 

I 


9 
2 


2 
■■■2 


2 


Tennessee.... . . 


1 






Mississippi 




Louisiana 


3 
10 
3 

12 
12 
14 
19 
14 
9 
6 
10 
1 
2 

4 
6 


3 

11 

3 

5 

9 

10 

12 

16 

10 

8 

8 

8 

1 

2 

4 

5 


2 
5 

1 
4 

9 
7 
9 
12 
9 
8 
4 
7 
1 
1 
4 
2 


1 
2 

'""3" 

5 
4 
5 
5 
6 
5 
1 
4 


2 
1 

t 

3 

3 
2 

i 


2 
7 
] 
3 

11 

8 

10 

16 

11 

7 

6 

9 

1 

1 

4 

4 


6 

9 

67 
41 
113 
78 
37 
23 
3 
50 






Texas 






Arkansas 

Oklahoma 


1 




North Central Division: 

Ohio 


24 

"'45' 

14 

6 

13 

6 

5 


8 


Indiana 


4 


Illinois 


3 


Michigan 


5 


Wisconsin . . 


3 


Minnesota 


1 


Iowa 






3 


Norlh Dakota 




South Dakota 


""2 

1 


1 
""2 






2 


Neliraska 


3 
2 


1 




Kansas 


1 


Western Division: 

Montana 


1 


Wyoming 


1 
9 
2 
2 
3 
1 


""4 
2 

2 
3 

1 


1 
3 

1 


""3 


1 
...... 

1 










Colorado 


9 

1 
1 
3 

1 


1 
3 
1 
3 
1 


1 








Arizona 






Utah 


2 

1 


2 






Nevada . 
















Washington . 


7 
2 
13 



2 
11 


5 

1 

11 


3 

1 
10 


1 

2 
2 



...... 


22 

5 

21 


8 
14 


1 




1 


California.. 


1 







1 Russell Sage Foundation. 
1911. 



What American cities are doing for the health of school children . New York, 



138 



EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 



Summary of provisions for health of children in public schools, 1911 — Continued . 



States. 



United States 

North Atlantic Division 
Soutti Atlantic Division 
South Central Division. 
North Central Division. 
Western Division 

North Atlantic Division 

Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

South Atlantic Division 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

South Central Division: 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Arkansas 

Oklahoma 

North Central Division: 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

North Dakota 

South Dakota 

Nebraska 

Kansas , 

Western Division: 

Montana 

AVyoming 

Colorado 

New Mexico 

Arizona 

Utah 

Nevada 

Idaho 

Y/ashington 

Oregon 

California 



947 

346 

72 

100 

363 

66 



,19 

13 

6 

102 
14 
24 
47 
43 
78 

1 

5 
13 

8 
15 
11 
13 

6 

19 
6 
9 
5 
8 

31 
9 

13 

61 
48 
55 
40 
38 
22 
27 
23 
6 
6 
11 
20 

6 
1 

12 
3 
4 
4 
1 
2 

10 
5 

18 






g^ o « 






929 



333 
71 
98 

361 



19 
13 
5 
101 
14 
21 
60 
36 
74 



264 



785 



316 
54 
67 

286 
02 



biOW 

^ O Q> 

03 ft^ 



643 



237 
44 
66 

243 
63 



349 
61 



.^g 






469 



275 
17 
28 

120 
29 



6 
100 
16 
23 
32 
37 
39 

1 
1 
4 
2 
5 



2 


7 


1 


10 


2 






1 




2 




1 


2 


1 


1 


3 




3 




1 


1 


2 




1 


1 


1 




2 



d ?? s 



388 
65 
92 

374 
63 



19 
11 
7 
103 
15 
23 
72 
45 
93 

1 

5 

12 

10 

13 



VI. SECONDARY EDUCATION. 



RELATION TO HIGHER EDUCATION. 



Within the past half dozen years there has been a revival of the 
old-time controversy over the relations of secondar}^ schools to uni- 
versities and colleges. Pointing out a conflict between the needs 



1 See Chapter II of this report. 



BECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 139 

of the community and the requirements of the college, high-school 
men are urging that the college make its entrance standards more 
flexible, while college men, witli characteristic conservatism, liave 
shown a disposition to proceed in this direction with caution. That 
there is need of an adjustment to the end that secondary schools may 
direct their efforts to other purposes besides preparing their students 
to meet college entrance requirements seems to be generally agreed. 
In this connection the Commissioner of Education, in the introduc- 
tion to his annual report for 1910, said: 

There are two considerations of a general character which are central to this whole 
problem: In the first place, it is not merely a demand of the universities, but a gen- 
uinely popular demand that our high schools should bridge the g-ap between the gram- 
mar schools and the colleges, offering to all pupils a well-articulated series of educa- 
tional opportunities, from the lowest to the highest. In the second place, where the 
standards of secondary education are uncertain and fluctuating, the colleges must 
fix their own standards of admission or give up the hope of maintaining an honorable 
position in the academic world. 

The historic situation, in which our secondary schools have been held up to a credita- 
ble grade of excellence by the admission requirements of the colleges has, then, been 
amply justified in the past. It is not yet outgrown. But every year it becomes 
more unsatisfactory, in spite of many incidental improvements made in the past 
generation, and we must now look forward to a time when it can be superseded by 
some different aiTangement, which shall be as good for the colleges and better for the 
schools. 

The question centers now more in the content than in the amount 
of requirements. High-school men find it difficult to adjust the 
work of pupils preparing for college to the work of those who do not 
mean to go beyond the secondary school and who desire a more 
practical training. This difficulty can be met in part, they say, by 
making broader the field of college entrance requirements. 

At present there is a decided tendenc}^ on the part of college men 
to meet the demands of the secondary schools. At the meeting of the 
Association of New England Colleges held at Amherst in November, 
1910, the following resolution was adopted: '^That tlie association 
recommends that the New England colleges adopt a system of tests 
for admission in which a certificate shall be taken for quantity and 
an examination shall be held in a limited number of substantial sub- 
jects for the quality of school work." In accordance with this recom- 
mendation, Harvard University, in January of the present year, mod- 
ified its entrance requirements by adopting an alternative plan of 
admission to be tried in conjunction with the older plan. About the 
same time the University of Chicago, after an extended study of the 
problems involved, announced rather radical changes in its require- 
ments. Other large universities that have modified their entrance 
standards within recent years are Columbia University, the Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin, and the University of California. 



140 



EDUCATION EEPOKT, 1911. 



EXTENSION OF THE HIGH-SCHOOL CURRICULUM. 

The tendency toward the extension of the high-school curriculum 
has been more marked during the last decade than before. The 
diversity of social and industrial demands upon the high school has 
made necessary the extension of the range of its activities. To 
meet this necessity have arisen the technical high school, commercial 
courses, courses in household economy, and the like. In recent years 
these types of high-school activity have made rapid headway. 

The most elaborate system of secondary education in the country 
is that worked out and put into effect in the city of Chicago in the 
early part of this year. In that city 11 distinct four-year courses 
and 10 two-year courses are now offered. The four-year courses are 
as follows: 



1. English course. 

2. General course. 

3. Foreign-language course. 

4. Science course. 

5. Normal preparatory course. 

6. Business course. 



7. Manual-training course. 

8. Builders course. 

9. Household -arts course. 

10. Arts course. 

11. Architectural course. 



The general course is designed to give a general education rather 
than a high degree of specialization. It is the preparatory course 
for colleges and for normal, engineering, and scientific schools. The 
other 10 courses in the four-year group are designed for specializa- 
tion in the lines indicated by the titles. In the English course, for 
instance, the major work is done in English literature and composi- 
tion; in the foreign-language course the major work is done in for- 
eign languages. 

The tv/o-3^ear courses are all vocational in aim. They are in ac- 
counting, stenography, mechanical drawing, design, advanced car- 
pentry, pattern-making, machine-shop work, electricity, household 
arts, and printing. Of these courses the prospectus of courses of 
study for the Chicago high schools says: 

Each two-year course has a major subject, which receives a specially larger propor- 
tion of time and credit. A student pursuing such a course will be required to follow 
it as outlined, in order to be well fitted for the occupation into which the major sub- 
ject leads. Studies taken successfully in the two-year courses will receive credit 
toward graduation from the four-year com-se. 



JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS. 

A new departure in secondary education in this country is the 
adoption in some cities of a modification of the older ^^six and six 
plan," in the form of '^junior high schools." For some years there 
has been advocated the plan of drawing the line of demarcation 
between elementary and secondary education at the end of the sixth 
year, or grade, and in a number of cities departmental teaching has 
been tried with success in the upper elementary grades, but it was 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 141 

not until 1909 that this tendency took definite form in a separate 
school. On July 6 of that year a resolution was adopted by the 
board of education of Columbus, Ohio, directing Supt. J. A. Shawan 
to organize the new Indianola school as a junior high school, and 
the school was organized accordingly. In the same year Supt. 
Frank F. Bunker, of Berkeley, Cal., introduced the same type of 
school in that city, and from Supt. Bunker's initial effort the ^'Berke- 
ley plan" has become widely known. 

The plan involves the combination of the two upper elementary 
gi'ades with the first year of the high school. This would leave in 
the elementary school the first six grades, and the high school proper 
would be composed of the three upper years. The plan contemplates 
the doing of preparatory high-school work under practically high- 
school conditions and is designed to make less abrupt the passage 
from the elementary to the secondary school. As showing more in 
detail the plan submitted by Supt. Bunker, the following quotation 
is taken from his report relative to the proposed school.^ 

The plan which I have recommended involves a reorganization and regrouping of 
the several grades of our schools. Stated briefly, it is this: To have three groups of 
schools, one group (the high schools proper) comprising the tenth, eleventh, and 
twelfth years only; the second group, which may be called the introductory high- 
school group, comprising the seventh, eighth, and ninth years only; and a third group 
of schools (the elementary schools proper) comprising all children of the first six years. 
To make it more concrete, the plan proposes, when in full operation, that all the 
seventh, eighth, and ninth grade children of the entire department be assembled at 
certain schools which shall be organized for work of this character; that the work of the 
ninth year be no longer done at the high school proper, but at these centers; and that 
the other schools of the department comprise grades no higher than the sixth grade, 
the same to be feeders to the centers. 

Vn. SPECIAL SCHOOLS AND CLASSES FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN. 

Under the head of '' Studies of elimination and retardation" mention 
has already been made of the retarded child. Supt. Maxwell's 
enumeration of the causes of retardation is not only illuminating, 
but it also abounds with suggestions of remedies. Some of these 
causes clearly indicate that the regular grade work is not adapted 
to the needs of a large percentage of exceptional cliildren, and that 
special, or extra-grade, classes should be organized. If the excep- 
tional child can not be dealt with in the regular classes of the grades, 
some special provision should be made for him in a school or class 
suited to his needs. 

Though provision for the education of the deaf and blind was made 
in this country as early as the beginning of the nineteenth century, 
it was not until the last decade of that century that provision for 
other kinds of atypical children began to attract wide attention. 
The proper administration of compulsory education laws, the greater 

1 Sierra Educational News and Book Review, December, 1909, pp. 13-19. 



142 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

number of which were enacted in the seventies and eighties, neces- 
sitated the estabhshment of truant schools or chesses. Cleveland, 
Oliio, led the way with the organization of disciplinary classes in 1878 
and Chicago followed in 1892, and thereafter many other cities made 
similar provisions. In the late nineties and the earlier years of this 
century the ' 'retarded" child began to attract especial attention, 
and special classes to meet his needs made their appearance in the 
American city school system. Pioneer cities in this field were 
Providence, Boston, and Springfield (Mass.), New York City, Phila- 
delphia, and Cleveland. In more recent years special classes have 
been organized for the tuberculous and anaemic, the exceptionally 
capable, those having speech defects, and those for whom vocational 
training is better adapted. 

OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS. 

The first city in the country to establish an open-air school for 
tuberculous and anaemic children was Providence, R. L, where such 
a school was opened February 1, 1908. Since that time the move- 
ment has spread to all parts of the country. In 1911, 25 cities 
reported open-air schools. Among them are such leaders in educa- 
tional endeavor as Boston, New York, Rochester, Newark, Pittsburgh^ 
Chicago, Cincinnati, Oakland, and New Orleans. 

Supt. Maxwell, of New York City, suggests for equipment, Venetian 
bhnds for the windows, movable and adjustable desks, reclining 
chairs, a scale for weighing and measuring pupils, and clothing 
consisting of robes, caps, and foot warmers. To this might be added 
utensils for the preparation of soup and wholesome lunches. The 
following description, token from the annual report for 1910 of the 
board of school visitors of Hartford, Conn., will serve as typical of 
the open-air school as at present conducted : 

On the morning of January/ 3, 1910, the first out-door school in Connecticut was 
opened. It was rainy, cold, and disagreeable, but 23 children registered, and after 
each had been equipped with reefers, sweaters, toques, and sitting-out bags, they 
began actual school work in the tent provided. The change from warm homes and 
schoolrooms to an open tent on such a cold day must have been trying to some of the 
children, but no mm-mur of discontent, grumbling, or whining was heard that day, 
and the same spirit of cheerfulness prevailed during the entire six months of the 
school. The children were selected from 13 different schools and from 10 different 
nationalities and numbered 47 before the season closed. Wlien children had gained 
sufficiently, or home conditions had materially improved, children were sent home 
at first, but later it seemed best to retain them as long as possible, in order to test not 
only the health-giving scheme of the school but the educational side as well. All 
children entering were selected from groups selected from schools, and examined by 
Dr. Stoll. They were first weighed, and thereafter tested on the scales weekly, and a 
record kept of their weight at each weighing. Some of the records show remarkable 
g-ains, while others show steady upward progress. The temperature in the tent has 
registered as low as 16 degrees while studies were in progress and no one seemed to 
suffei^ prct<:;ction to the feet being assured by heated soapstone in the sitting 
ba^. 't ^ >> 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 143 

Most of the pupils who came to us were below grade in their studies. Under our 
ideal conditions (small numbers, perfectly fresh ah-, nourishing food, rest, and exer- 
cise) they made much progress. One second-grade child who was with us less than 
two months, upon her return to school was put into the fourth grade. We had nine 
grades in our school. One teacher taught the first five grades; the other took the four 
remaining grades. WTien possible the classes were united. The backward pupils 
were greatly helped by reciting with several classes. Children who were poor in a 
certain branch were put into two or three classes of that branch. A child who was 
particularly good in a study was allowed to recite that branch with a higher class. 
In every way the children v/ere encouraged and net held back. 

Program: Breakfast, 8.45-9.15; recitations, 9.15-11.30; gymnastics and play, 11.30- 
11.45; washing of hands and dinner, 11.45-12.30; cleaning of teeth and sleep, 12.30- 
1.45; recitations, 1.45-3.45; supper, 3.45-4. 

THE EXCEPTIONALLY CAPABLE CHILD. 

Not SO much is done for the exceptionally capable child as for the 
retarded. It is generally taken for granted that the talented child 
can take care of himself^ but fi^om an economic point of view there is 
more loss in the arrested progress of a pupil of this class than there 
is in that of the dullard. If a bright boy is capable of doing the work 
of the eight grades in seven years he should be permitted to do it 
in that time. In 1911, 54 cities reported some provision for the 
exceptionally capable child. He is receiving recognition through 
either the organization of special classes or the adoption of more 
flexible systems of promotion. Baltimore, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, 
Worcester, and Salt Lake City now provide special classes for those 
above the normal in mental ability. 

SPEECH DEFECTS. 

Special classes for stammerers and others having speech defects 
are conducted in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle. Upon 
investigation in 1910 Supt. Ella Flagg Young, of Chicago, found 
that there were 1,744 children in the schools of that city who had 
speech defects of one kind or another. Accordingly 10 special 
teachers were employed to devote their efforts to the correction of 
these defects. The children affected, however, were not gathered 
into one building or into classes, but a plan was adopted of assigning 
to each teacher a circuit and having her travel from school to school 
during the day. In the other cities named special classes were 
formed. 

PRESENT STATUS. 

■ As showing the present status of the movement for the provision 
of special schools and classes for exceptional children, the following 
table is reproduced from Bulletin, 1911, No. 14, of the Bureau of 
Education. 



144 EDUCATION EEPOET, 1911. 

Statistical summary of cities mahing jyrovision for exceptional children. 





1 

Si 




1 
1 

pq 


1 

i 


4 

.s 


a 

0x3 





For foreign- 
ers. 


•3 
> 


S 


Statfts. 




.1 


1 




United States 


898 


121 


207 


94 


14 


46 


25 


73 


197 


136 


36 






North Atlantic Division 


370 
60 
90 

322 
56 


5G 
5 

10 
38 
12 


90 
14 
18 
66 
19 


43 

2 
7 

30 
12 


4 


6 


12 
1 

1 
9 
2 


41 

1 

4 

16 

11 


122 

4 

8 

53 

10 


48 
10 
13 
55 
10 


12 


South Atlantic Division 


2 


South Central Division 






6 




9 

1 


34 
6 


14 


AVestern Division . . . 


? 






North Atlantic Division: 

Main 


17 
12 
8 
103 
16 
21 
78 
35 
80 


2 
8 
4 
3 
13 
12 
13 


3 
2 
2 

28 
4 
5 

19 
15 
U2 


I 


1 


1 






5 

5 

2 

39 

4 

15 

28 

15 

16 


1 

I 

22 

I 

10 

4 
4 






1 


2 




Vermont 


1 
13 
2 
4 
7 
11 
4 






1 


Massachusetts 


...._.. 


2 


1 
3 
2 
3 


11 
3 

5 
12 

1 
6 


3 


Rhode Island 


1 






New York 


1 

1 


1 

1 


4 


New Jersey . 


2 


Pennsylvania 


1 


South Atlantic Division: 










Maryland 


5 

1 
11 

5 
13 

7 
15 

3 

"? 

10 

10 

6 

31 

8 
8 

31 

45 

55 

43 

34 

21 

28 

27 

6 

2 

7 

23 

6 
1 

10 
3 
3 
2 
1 
2 
6 
6 

16 


2 
""2 


3 

1 
5 


1 








1 


1 
1 
1 


2 




District of Columbia 






1 




Virginia .... 


1 






3 

1 
2 




West Virginia 










1 




1 


4 
1 
































Georgia 












1 


2 


1 


Florida 


















South Central Division: 
Kentucky 


1 
3 


1 
4 
1 
2 
2 
5 




1 
1 




' 




1 
1 


2 


2 


1 












Alabama 








1 


1 
2 
1 
6 




Mississippi 


1 












Louisiana 






1 


""2 


1 
3 


1 


Texas 


3 






3 


Arkansas . 








1 


Oklahoma 


3 

5 
5 
3 
8 
3 


3 

5 

10 
7 
12 
7 
12 
1 
9 
1 


1 

4 
5 
2 
7 
4 
3 










1 

7 
7 

10 
8 

10 
4 
2 
3 


1 

5 

6 
7 
8 
8 
11 




North Central Division: 
Ohio 


2 

■■■■4' 

1 


3 

2 

3 

10 

14 

1 


3 

1 
2 

1 


2 
1 
5 
1 
1 
4 


4 




3 


Illinois. .. 


1 


Michigan 


1 






Minnesota 


3 


Iowa 




Missouri .' 


3 
1 




1 




1 


2 

1 
1 
1 
5 




North Dakota 




South Dakota 




























1 


1 
1 




Kansas 


2 


2 


1 








2 


Western Division: 












Wj^oming 
























3 

1 


5 
1 

1 
1 


2 

1 








3 
1 

2 


3 




1 


New Mexico 








1 


Arizona 










1 




Utah 


1 










Nevada 


















'"'i' 
1 

6 


1 
1 
2 












1 
2 
1 
3 


1 
1 
2 
5 






2 

1 
5 


'"'i' 


1 
1 
4 


"'2' 


1 
1 
3 




Oregon 













RECENT PROGKESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 



145 



Statistical summary of cities making provision for exceptional children — Continued, 



states. 


i 
n 


Epileptic. 


92 


1 


ft 
02 


TO 


'6 


il 
V 


1 


B 

1 

s 
a 


United States 


24 


5 


75 


54 


13 


2 


3 


1 i 

7 1 1 1 1 






North Atlantic Division 

South Vtlantic Division 


10 

1 
1 
5 
7 


1 
1 

2 

1 


26 
6 
7 

27 
9 


22 
2 
3 


I 


1 


1 


2 ,.. i 


South Central Division 






1 


North Central Division 


IQ 


4 


1 


2 


1 1 


Western Division 


8 


1 


1 1 11 










North Atlantic Division: 

Maine 








1 








1 










1 
1 
4 
2 
2 
8 
4 








1 




Vermont 






i 

8 






1 






1 
1 










1 






Rhode Island ... . 




2 











Conn'^'^*^i''"t 














6 

1 


i' 


8 
2 


3 

1 
1 


1 


1 


2 






New Jersey 

Pennsvlvania 







4 2 












South Atlantic Division: 

Delaware 


















1 


1 


1 


1 


1 






1 
1 






District of Columbia 
















2 















West Virginia 



















North Carolina 






3 


1 










South Carolina 
















Georsria 


















1 


Florida 





















South Central Division: 

Kentucky- 






2 










t 






















Alabama 


1 






















2 


2 






1 


I>ouisiana . 
















Texas 






2 


1 














Arkansas 








. .. 










Oklahoma 






1 

I 

6 
3 
2 
4 
1 














North Central Division: 

Ohio 


1 


1 


3 

6 


2 

1 




1 








Indiana 








Illinois 


1 






1 


1 






Michigan 


2 
2 
2 

1 
2 




























Minnesota 


2 


1 




1 






1 


Iowa 






i 




1 




3 

1 



1 








1 


North Dakota 










South Dakota • 


















Nebraska 




1 


1 










! 


Kansas 




1 












Western Division: 
Montana 


1 


1 


















1 


1 
3 




1 






Colorado 


1 


1 


3 


1 


1 






New Mexico 










Arizona . 






1 




1 








Utah 


















Nevada 





















Idaho 






1 


1 














Washington 


2 
1 
2 
















Oregon 






1 
2 














California 




3 








1 


I 





















13144°— ED 1911— VOL 1- 



-10 



146 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911, 



Vm. INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 



By industrial education is meant here the new direction which has 
been given during the past decade to hand training. This new 
direction comprehends the training in school of youth for specific 
vocations in the industries. It differs from ordinary manual training 
in that it is vocational and specific, while manual training is cultural 
and general in aim. In its broader application it is sometimes used 
to include every form of training for the industries, but in recent 
years the tendency has been to narrow the meaning to make it 
practically synonymous with trade training. 

While it is not claimed that industrial education is distinctly a 
city school movement, it is true that the major part of what has been 
accomplished in this country in training for the industries has been 
in the cities. It is in the cities that industrial needs are greatest. 
From a list of 142 industrial schools prepared in the Bureau of Educa- 
tion in 1910, 121, or 85 per cent, were found to be in cities of 25,000 
population and over. This list, however, did not include industrial 
schools for Indians and for the colored race, many of which are 
located in rural communities. But of the technical high schools 
which offer instruction more or less industrial in aim, practically all 
are in the larger cities. 

Two agencies that have given decided impetus and direction to the 
new movement are the Massachusetts Commission on Industrial 
Education and the National Society for the Promotion of Industrial 
Education. . 

Though the new movement had an earlier origin it did not begin 
to take definite form in this country until about 1905. It was in 
Massachusetts that the first definite step was taken. Under authority 
of a resolve of the legislature of that State, approved May 24, 1905, 
the governor appointed a ^'commission on industrial education" to 
investigate the subject in the State of Massachusetts and ''as to 
similar educational work done by other States, by the United States 
Government, and by foreign Governments." After several months 
of study, the commission made its report with recommendations, 
one of which was that a second commission be appointed to extend 
the investigation of industrial training and of local needs and to 
advise and aid in the introduction of independent industrial schools. 
This recommendation was embodied in the law^ of 1906 which 
created such a commission and defined its powers and duties. Under 
the provisions of this law, cities and towns were empowered to 
establish independent industrial schools and to receive State aid 
upon approval of the commission. Prior to October 1, 1911, 15 
schools had been approved by the commission and by the State board 
of education to which its functions were transferred. On that date 



BECENT PKOGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 147 

8 additional schools were in process of organization in anticipation of 
similar approval. 

The appointment of the Massachusetts commission and the publi- 
cation of its reports gave great momentum to the movement for 
industrial education, but they have not stood alone in the exertion 
of such influence. The organization of the National Society for the 
Promotion of Industrial Education in New York City in November, 
1906, marked the beginning of a potent factor in both the develop- 
ment and the direction of industrial training. Its objects as stated 
by its founders are: 

To bring to public attention the importance of industrial education as a factor in 
the industrial development of the United States; to provide opportunities for the 
study and discussion of the various phases of the problems; to make available the 
results of experience in the field of industrial education both in this country and 
abroad, and to promote the establishment of institutions for industrial training. 

The society holds annual meetings at which all phases of the subject 
are discussed, and pubhshes a bulletin containing information designed 
to promote the objects of the organization. 

In addition to this society a number of other organizations ^ of 
national scope have interested themselves in industrial education. 
Two of the most important of these are the National Association of 
Manufacturers and the American Federation of Labor. By the 
adoption of the report of its committee on industrial education made 
in May, 1910, the Association of Manufacturers committed itself to 
the pohcy of taking ^'bo3^s of 14 years of age and giving them four 
years of training corresponding to the high-school period^ — half 
skilled work and half suitable schooling." 

At the thirteenth annual convention of the Federation of Labor 
held in St. Louis in November, 1910, the report of the special com- 
mittee appointed to review the report of the committee on indus- 
trial education reconmaended ''that the special committee appointed 
by authority of the Denver [1908] convention be continued, and that 
that committee be urged and authorized to prosecute their investi- 
gation, and to lend every assistance to the accompHshment of the 
extension and completion of comprehensive industrial education in 
every field of activity." The convention concurred in the report by 
unanimous vote. 

CLASSIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING. 

As regards character and amount of instruction given, there may 
be said to be in the United States three types of industrial training: 
(1) Complete trade training, in which the effort is to develop skilled 
workers capable of doing journeyman's work; (2) intermediate, or 
preapprentice, trade training, through which it is sought to shorten 

1 For a list of such organizations see Annual Report of the Commissioner of Educat ion, 1910, p. 224. 



148 

the period of apprenticeship or to give some industrial skill and intel- 
ligence preparatory to apprendceship; (3) supplementary instruction 
for those already engaged in industrial pursuits. 

Classified according to the source of support, there are four kinds 
of industrial schools: (1) Those depending on tuition fees and usually 
operated for profit, (2) those supported by endowment. (3) those 
operated by business corporations for the instruction of their em- 
ployees, and (4) those supported by public funds. A careful examina- 
tion of the courses offered reveals the fact that in the main those 
schools which offer complete trade training are supported either by 
tuition or by endowment, and that with few exceptions public indus- 
trial schools as yet offer only supplementary and preapprentice 
instruction. 

Another classification may be made of industrial schools, the line 
of demarcation being drawn between schools which devote the whole 
time to instruction and those in which part time is devoted to instruc- 
tion and the remainder to work in a shop or factory and under shop 
or factory conditions. Those in which all the time is spent in school 
are the more numerous. Schools in which part of the time is spent 
at work under factory conditions constitute a new development in 
industrial training in this country. Fitchburg, Mass., was the first 
city in the country to establish such a school as a part of the public- 
school system. In 1908 a modification of the ^'cooperative plan," 
introduced two years previously in the engineering department of the 
University of Cincinnati, was introduced in the Fitchburg High School. 
Boys were employed alternate weeks in various industries of the city 
and were paid stipulated wages. The other half of the time was 
devoted to study in school. The school is now in the fourth year of 
its history and the plan has been pronounced a success. 

Fitchburg's lead has been followed by several cities, though usually 
the term '^ Continuation school" is applied, in analogy to the German 
term Fortbildungsschule. Continuation schools are now conducted 
in Boston, New York, Providence, Chicago, and Cincinnati, and 
beginnings have been made in some other cities. 

LEGISLATION RELATING TO INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 

The National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education 
reports ^ that, of the 46 States, 29 have enacted laws relating to 
industrial training. These States are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecti- 
cut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, 
Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mchigan, Minnesota, 
Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, 
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and 

1 National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, Bulletin To. 12. Legislation upon 
Industrial education in the United States, New York, 1910. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 149 

Wyoming. The diverse terminology in the enactments of the several 
States, however, renders a close classification well-nigh impossible 
and necessitated the inclusion in the list of some laws which do not 
relate strictly to industrial education. 

Laws were enacted by State legislatures meeting in 1911 as follows: 

Alabama. — Appropriating $50,000 for the establishment of an 
industrial school at Eagland, and $5,000 for its maintenance. 

Colorado. — (1) Providing for the establishment of a school of agri- 
culture and mechanic arts at the Fort Lewis School and appropriating 
$75,000 therefor. (2) Establishing the Colorado State Trade School 
at Aspen. 

Indiana. — Authorizing any city having a population of over 200,000 
to establish and maintain a trade school. 

Maine. — Providing for the introduction of industrial courses in free 
high schools and academies and in State normal schools for the 
training of teachers, and empowering cities and towns to establish 
''general industrial schools.'' 

Massachusetts.— (1) Making appropriations for independent indus- 
trial schools. (2) Further providing for the administration of 
vocational schools receiving State aid. 

Michigan. — Authorizing any school district to establish vocational 
schools. 

Minnesota. — Providing for the teaching of certain industrial sub- 
jects in high and graded schools. 

Pennsylvania. — Appropriating $10,000 for the maintenance for two 
years of the Avery College Trade School at Southside, Pittsburgh. 

Wisconsin. — Creating a State board of industrial education and 
providing for the establishment of vocational schools and of a school 
to train teachers of industrial subjects. 

PRESENT STATUS OF INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 

The present status of industrial education in the United States is 
shown to some degree in Chapter III of the Annual Report for 1910. 
In that chapter an attempt was made to list and classif}^ industrial 
schools. The classification was necessarily tentative, but it serves 
to show to what extent the movement has spread. Not all the 
schools in the list were recently established, but many of them are 
of recent origin and new direction has been given to many of those 
already in existence. The list does not include a few schools known 
to exist but from which no reports could be obtained. 

In Group A of that list the more complete classification was 
attempted. Schools were classified as giving (1) complete trade 
training, (2) preapprentice instruction, or (3) supplementary instruc- 
tion to those already engaged in industrial pursuits. In all, 142 
schools were included in this group. 



150 EDUCATION REPOKT, 1911. 

Group B included schools for the colored race. Most of these 
schools are primarily academic in aim and the industrial instruction 
given is usually supplementary to academic work. For this reason 
these schools were grouped separately, as giving industrial training 
that is difficult to classify. This group contained 53 institutions, 
but it is known that a number of others give industrial training in 
some form. 

Group C was made up largely of nonreservation boarding schools 
for Indians. Of these schools 14 were reported by the Office of Indian 
Affairs to be giving systematic trade training in some trades, and 8 
some form of less specific trade training. 

To the list a fourth group was added which included technical high 
schools. Generally this type of school is not giving trade training, 
but they are offering much instruction supplementary to the trades 
and much that prepares for technical or semitechnical pursuits in the 
industries. This group was likewise difficult to classify, but reports 
were received from 28 schools which were thought to belong in the 
list. 

VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE. 

For some time there have been those who have thought that the 
public school should give more attention to directing the choice of its 
pupils' future vocations. The higher institutions of learning not only 
prepare for vocations but follow their graduates into life mth advice 
and assistance. In contrast with this the public school has too often 
sent out its pupils without even so much as a heartily expressed good 
wish. There is, however, a growing disposition on the part of public- 
school men to make the school more helpful in this respect. In New 
York, Boston, Providence, Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, 
and some other cities steps have been taken to that end. A national 
conference on vocational guidance was held in Boston on November 
15 and 16, 1910. From a small beginning vocational guidance has 
spread in New York City until every day and evening high school has 
one or more teachers who are charged with the duty of helping stu- 
dents choose vocations and secure employment. 

In May, 1909, the school committee of Boston requested the cooper- 
ation of the vocation bureau and provided for the appointment of a 
^^ committee on vocational direction" to be composed of six members 
of the teaching staff. The committee was appointed by the superin- 
tendent in the following month and immediately entered upon the 
performance of its duties. Of the work of this committee Supt. 
Stratton D. Brooks, in his annual report for 1910, said: 

The committee on vocational direction has arranged for cooperation among various 
organizations interested in the work of vocational direction, conducted meetings of 
principals and teachers, and taken such other action as they deemed necessary. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 151 

Most important of the results accomplished by the committee on vocational advice 
is the appointment in each high school and elementary school of one or more voca- 
tional counselors. These counselors have been selected by the principals with refer- 
ence to their interest in the work of vocational direction, their skill in determining the 
abilities and possibilities of the children, and their willingness to devote extra time 
to acquiring information and perfecting themselves for the successful performance of 
their important duties. Meetings of these counselors have been held for the purpose 
of discussing the problems of vocational direction and considering how best to minimi?e 
its dangers and increase its beneficial results. Arrangements have been made whereby 
the vocation bureau will conduct a course of instruction for vocational counselors 
wherein they may be even more efficiently prepared for the work of directing pupils 
wisely. 

IX. THE WIDER USE OF THE SCHOOL PLANT. 

The average American school building is open not more than 6 
hours a day for 5 days a week and 36 weeks in a year — about 1,080 
hours. If Sundays be excluded, there are in all approximately 3,000 
hours in a year during which buildings might be used. This indi- 
cates a time waste of about 1,920 hours, or 64 per cent. With the 
possible exception of the church, no American institution uses its 
plant so little. Certainly public buildings in general are used more 
than schoolhouses, notwithstanding the fact that more money is 
invested in the latter. But this is not the only consideration. There 
is a wide and growing social need which the school building may 
serve. Many places of amusement frequented by young people in 
large cities are unwholesome in their influence and the schoolhouse 
should provide the needed healthier social and moral environment. 

In recent years the movement for the wider use of the school plant 
has taken form particularly in vacation schools, public evening 
lectures, and social and recreation centers. 

VACATION SCHOOLS. 

Although the first vacation school organized as a part of a city 
school system was opened as early as 1885, in Newark, N. J., it was 
not until the late nineties that the movement became general and not 
until the first decade of this century that school boards generally 
began to take control of such schools. At first they were conducted 
wholly or in part by philanthropic organizations. 

There are two types of the vacation school; or, otherwise expressed, 
there are two lines of work which vacation schools pursue. In the 
first type the aim is social, being merely to offer the children an 
opportunity to get out of the hot and crowded streets and into more 
wholesome surroundings in which they may play, sing, and do ele- 
mentary handwork and the like under competent direction. Usually 
some instruction is offered in nature study, first aid to the injured, 
and similar subjects. Vacation schools of this sort are the more 



152 

numerous and better known. The second type is academic in aim. 
In several cities special classes are organized in vacation tim.e for the 
purpose of enabling pupils failing in some of their studies of the 
previous year to make up work, and thus escape repeating a whole 
year's work. In some cases especially capable pupils are permitted 
to study in vacation time in order to advance a grade or to save part 
of p. year. 

Two notable examples of the latter type of vacation school are 
those found in the work undertaken in Cleveland and St. Louis this 
year. Since the plans in these two cities contemplate the most thor- 
oughly organized system of academic work in vacation time in the 
country at present, they are presented at iengtii. Supt. W. H. 
Elson's recommendations as adopted by the Cleveland Board of 
Education at its meeting on May 22, 1911, follow:^ 

First. That the summer school shall begin Monday, June 5, and continue 12 weeks. 
The attendance in this school shall not be compulsory, but be entirely at the option 
of the parents, and that in cases of doubtful physical ability attendance shall be on the 
approval of the medical inspector. This does not release the child from attendance 
at the regular school terms beginning in September and ending in May. 

Second. That in elementary schools it should offer an opportunity for retarded chil- 
dren in the grades from the fourth to the eighth, inclusive, who are retarded one year, 
and below the fourth grade children who are retarded two years or more. 

Third. That the hours be from 8 a. m. to 2 p. m., with recess in the morning and 
one hour for noon, and salaries of teachers should conform to those of the regular school 
year. 

Fourth. All elementary school buildings should be open for summer classes except 
where the director of schools finds it impossible on account of repairs or changes to use 
the building, in which case the children should be transferred to another school. 

Fifth. One teacher in each building should be assigned as assistant principal, who 
shall make reports and direct in matters of detail. 

Sixth. Tne make-up of classes should conform to the regulations governing the same 
in the regular school year, and' in cases where there are not sufficient pupils to consti- 
tute a school children should be transferred to the nearest building having their grade 
and division. 

Seventh. Obviously, in view of the bearing of the summer school upon the regular 
school, principals will desire to organize the classes in their respective buildings. In 
view of the early closing this year this will be possible and will require their attend- 
ance on the first day of the summer school. 

Eighth. That an academic high school for regular work be opened in the Central 
High building, to which pupils from any high-school district in the city may be admit- 
ted, the hours and salaries of teachers to conform to those of the regular school year, 
one teacher being assigned as assistant principal, who shall direct the details of the 
school and make reports. 

Ninth. That regular work be conducted in the Technical High School and the High 
School of Commerce, as heretofore. 

The following recommendations, submitted by Supt. Ben Blewett, 
of St. Louis, were adopted by the board of education of that city on 
June 13, 1911:2 



1 Official proceedings Cleveland Board of Education, May 22, 1911. 

2 Official proceedings St. Louis Board of Education, June 13, 1911. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 153 

1. That the board establish a vacation review school for ])Lipils wishing to make 
up deficiencies in not more than two studies and not extending over more than two 
quarters' work, and for pupils capable of doing work for an advanced class. 

2. That pupils be admitted to this school from the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth 
grades and from any high-school term. 

3. That admission be possible only on the certificate of the principal of the school 
from which the pupil comes that the pupil can undertake the review in subjects 
named with a reasonable expectation of success. 

4. That the superintendent of instruction be authorized to admit to the school 
pupils whom the principals shall certify as capable of undertaking advanced work, 
provided these can be accommodated after those entered to do review work. 

5. That the principal of the vacation review school shall, at the close of the term, 
certify to the work that has been tested and satisfactorily completed by each pupil 
and that this certificate shall be given full credit in placing the pupil on his return 
to his school at the beginning of the regular term. 

6. That the term of this school be for seven weeks and that the sessions be on six 
days of the week, during the morning, hours to be fixed by the superintendent of 
instruction. 

7. That the following be approved as the schedule of per diem salaries: Principal, 
$6; teacher of high -school subjects, $4; teacher of grade subjects, $3. 

8. That the school be held in the Central High School building. 

Supt. Blewett reported to the St. Louis Board of Education on 
September 12, 1911, as follows: ^ 

Attendance. — The board at the June meeting authorized the organization of classes 
for the benefit of pupils whose principals certified that they could undertake specified 
review or advanced work during a summer term with reasonable expectation of success 
in it. The number of pupils applying for admission to these classes greatly exceeded 
the first expectations. There were registered in grade studies 1,958 pupils; in high- 
school studies, 740 pupils. There were in attendance in the grades and high school, 
respectively, 1,592 and 676 pupils. 

The expense for salaries was $9,828, and for textbooks and stationery $799.05, 
a total of $10,627.05. This does not include any expense for textbooks borrowed from 
the stock of the several schools. The actual cost per pupil was approximately $4.75. 

Organization. — The number of pupils made it advisable to place the high-school 
work and the grade work in separate buildings. They were located, respectively, in 
the Soldan and Central High School buildings. 

Results. — The character of the attendance, the spirit of the pupils, and the success 
in the work undertaken by them seem to have met the highest expectations of the 
board and its officers. No recent extension of the work provided for so large a need, 
and it seems probable that there will be a demand for additional schools for the con- 
venience of pupils in the grades wishing to do this work in the summer. * * * 

At the beginning of the last week of the term the membership w^as 1,595 (719 boys 
and 876 girls). Of this number, 606 boys and 778 girls (1,384 total) received certifi- 
cates. One thousand one hundred and ninety-one were satisfactory in two subjects, 
149 passed in one subject and failed in one, and 44 who were taking only one subject 
received certificates for credit. Thirty-five did not appear for examination and 176 
failed on examination to get any credit. 

Three hundred and twenty-one brought certificates requesting two quarters' work 
in two subjects. At the middle of the term 47 of these were requested to abandon 
the attempt to do two quarters' work. Of the 274 who continued, 216 completed 
two quarters' work in two subjects. 



1 Official proceedings St. Louis Board of Education, Sept. 12, 1911. 



154 



EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 
PupiW success in secondary studies. 





Advance. 


Advance 

and 
review. 


Review, 


Total. 


Registered for 2 subjects . 


129 
75 
36 
10 

8 

143 
96 
25 

22 


125 
53 
53 

7 
12 


162 
72 
60 
14 
16 

181 
130 
26 
25 


416 


Passed in 2 subjects . 


200 


Passed in 1 and failed or dropped 1 subject . 


149 


Failed in 2 subjects 


31 


Dropped from course. 


36 


Registered in 1 subject 


324 


Passed . 




226 


Failed 




51 


Dropped from course 




47 








Total registration 


272 


125 


343 


740 







PUBLIC EVENING LECTURES. 

One of the most noteworthy examples of the extension of the 
use of the school building is its use for public evening lectures. 
Such lectures are now to be found in a large number of cities. 

As might be expected the lecture movement has attained different 
degrees of perfection in different cities. From the elaborate system 
in New York, where the department of education provides lectures 
in 166 centers and under the supervision of a speciahst, the scale 
descends to the smaller city in which the use of one or two buildings 
is allowed and lecturers are paid by means of a small admission fee 
or by contribution from a school improvement association or some 
source other than the school board. 

The most extensive system of free public lectures in the United 
States is that in the City of New York. The following summary 
shows the number and character of lectures given in 1909-10: 

Number and character of lectures, 1909-10} 





Courses. 


Subjects. 


I. Literature 


FIRST GROUP. 


12 
24 
14 

17 

3 

10 
4 
1 
5 
2 
2 

1 
6 
3 


98 


II. History 


156 


III. Social subjects 


97 


IV. Fine arts 


87 


I. Astronomy.. 


SECOND GROUP. 


15 


II. Physics 


90 


III. Chemistry 


35 


iV. Geology . 


5 


v. Biology 


25 


VI. Physiology and hygiene. 


13 


VII. Industries 


12 


I. South America 


THIRD GROUP.. 


4 


II. Europe 


27 


in. Asia 


19 








Total 


104 


683 







1 Annual report of the supervisor of lectures to the board of education for the year 1909-10, pp. 20-22. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 155 

In addition to these courses of lectures, single lectures were given 
in 971 subjects. In 1910, lectures were given to an aggregate 
attendance of 959,982 people. 

Cleveland is an example of the city that makes its lectures popular 
in nature. After a period of entertainment, including music, recita- 
tions, and the like, a lecture is delivered on some subject of general 
interest. Civics, travel, hygiene, social questions, and similar 
subjects are discussed i;n popular style. Lecturers are drawn from 
almost all walks of life. A physician discusses some phase of pre- 
ventive medical practice, a college professor points out some social 
fault and suggests means of correction, a minister makes an appeal 
for the boys of the city, a business man outlines the qualifications 
necessary to efficiency in commercial life, and so on. But partisan 
poHtics and sectarianism are barred. The lectures given in Cleve- 
land have met with hearty pubhc approval and have been of great 
benefit to the people. 

Milwaukee introduced public evening lectures in 1902, and since 
that time has developed a comprehensive system of courses, which 
are proving a strong force for social betterment and for broadening 
the culture of the people. Many of the lectures are illustrated and 
cover such subjects as history, natural science, art, literature, travel, 
sociology, economics, and industrial and municipal problems. In 
1909 such lectures were given in 25 buildings. Mr. W. L. Pieplow, 
president of the board of school directors, reports the lectures grow- 
ing in popularity. 

Birmingham, Ala., is one of the cities in which there is a lecture 
system not supported from school funds and not yet free to all the 
people. In that city, through the initiative of Supt. J. H. Phillips, 
a '4yceum course" has been organized. The use of the high-school 
auditorium is given free and the board of education furnishes heat, 
light, and janitor service. A nominal fee is charged for the pay- 
ment of lecturers, but the lectures are largely patronized neverthe- 
less. Lectures on literature, art, travel, history, and the like, and 
entertainments of various sorts find place on the programs. 

Other important cities which have lecture systems are Los Angeles, 
San Francisco, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, New Orleans, 
Worcester, MinneapoHs, St. Paul, St. Louis, Jersey City, Newark, 
Rochester, Cincinnati, Columbus, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Mem- 
phis, and Richmond. 

SOCIAL AND RECREATION CENTERS. 

The latest development in the extension of the use of the school 
plant is its use as a social and recreation center. Though New 
York City opened an evening recreation center as early as 1899, it 
was devoted chiefly to athletics, and so continued until the move- 



156 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

ment assumed a wider range several years later. It was in Roches- 
ter, N. Y., however, that social and recreation centers were first 
extensively organized, and it is to that city that many of those 
interested in such enterprises look for guidance. 

Libraries and reading rooms, social and civic clubs, literary 
societies, organizations for the study of music and art, concerts and 
dramatics, gymnasiums, and recreation rooms, all come within the 
scope of this type of school extension. The Yearbook of the Play- 
ground Association of America reports that 31 cities maintained 
recreation centers during the winter of 1910-11. The following 
statements show more in detail the nature of the activities fostered 
in some cf the more important cities: ^ 

Rochester. — In the winter of 1906-7 a campaign was begun for the use of the school 
buildi-ng for social and civic clubs, and as a result the "school extension committee," 
representing 11 citizens' organizations, was formed. On petition the board of esti- 
mate and the common council provided the necessary funds and thi-ee centers were 
opened. The board of education as custodian of school properties assumed the 
administration. Supervision was provided for all activities, especially those for 
boys and girls, Mr. Edward J. Ward being the chief supervisor in charge. During 
the year 1909-10, 16 buildings were opened, though only the original 3 centers were 
equipped for general social-center work. In this city almost every kind of whole- 
some amusement, recreation, and entertainment is offered. There are civic clubs 
for both men and women, debating societies, literary clubs, social organizations, 
musical entertainments, art clubs, athletic leagues, reading rooms, quiet game rooms, 
and gymnasiums. In concluding his report in 1910, Mr. Ward said: ''The aim of the 
school extension movement during the past three years has been to so widen the 
use of the school plant that this institution may serve in the complex life of the city 
as the little simple schoolhouse served in the primitive life of the rural community, 
not only as an educational center for the children, but also as the common local point 
of the neighborhood life." 

New York. — In his annual report for the year ending July 31, 1910, Supt. William H. 
Maxwell says: "Evening recreation centers were maintained from October until 
June in 36 school buildings. The aggregate attendance was 2,165,457, an increase of 
18,196 over the preceding year. The average evening attendance was 12,985, an 
increase of 1,517 over the preceding year. The chief activities were quiet games, 
reading (books being furnished by the public libraries), gymnastics, athletic sports, 
folk dancing, literary and social clubs, and study rooms for children who have no 
convenient place to study their lessons at home." In 1910-11, 38 centers have been 
conducted. Of this number 27 are open every night in the week except Sunday 
nights; others are opened on specified evenings. Sessions usually last from 7.30 to 
10 p. m. There are 26 centers for men and boys and 12 for women and girls. Ath- 
letic, civic, literary, philanthropic, and social clubs are maintained. In 1910 Dis- 
trict Supt. Edward W. Stitt, to whom was assigned the supervision of vacation schools, 
playgrounds, and recreation centers, reported 774 such clubs in existence. The 
public library supplies books to each center for its reading room and changes are 
frequently made. In this way the social and recreation center becomes a circulating 
library base. Free gymnasium privileges are offered, and such games as basket ball, 
handball, and indoor baseball are played by the boys. The girls dance folk and 
aesthetic dances. Regular dancing classes are organized in centers for girls, and 
once a week approved members of a neighboring center for young men are admitted. 

1 Bureau of Education. City school circular, No. 2, 1911. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 157 

A game room is provided, usually near the entrance, where such quiet games as 
checkers and dominos can be played. Athletic contests among the various play and 
recreation centers are encouraged. 

Philadelphia. — The first social center was opened January 22, 1907, in the Agnew 
School, through the initiative of the principal. The board of education granted the 
use of the building for two nights in a week and furnished heat, light, and janitor 
service. Financial aid was given by the Public Education Association and by the 
Civic Club. The teachers at first were volunteers, but later some paid workers were 
employed. During the year 1909-10 there were eight centers in operation, seven 
others having been organized on similar lines to those of the Agnew School. Prima- 
rily the object of these centers is to draw young people into wholesome surroundings 
in the evenings. The work is not identical in all buildings, but the following will 
indicate in general the character of the activities: Classes in manual training, sewing, 
music, and gymnastics; folk dancing; social and musical entertainments; Jectures on 
civics, hygiene, travel, etc.; civic clubs; reading rooms, and rooms for quiet games. 
Statistics for 1909-10: Buildings in use, 8; classes organized, 53; sessions, 164: average 
attendance, adults, 258; minors 15 to 21 years old, 489; minors under 15 years old, 788. 

Chicago. — Library facilities, gymnastics, games, sewing, lectures, music, and social 
dancing are offered to those who attend. The aim is to provide, as far as possible, 
healthy social and moral environment for the young. Private philanthropy and the 
cooperation of benevolent organizations contribute to the support of the work. In 
1910 the board of education appropriated $10,000 for social centers. In her annual 
report for 1910, Supt. Ella Flagg Young says: "The distinctive gain was not so much 
in what was learned as in the social and moral conditions that were made attractive, 
and that tended to draw the young people from the more dangerous class of amuse- 
ments which they were likely to frequent." 

Cleveland. — The social center is in charge of a special committee of the board of 
education. Children below the seventh grade are not admitted unless accompanied 
by their parents. The activities include lectures on civics, travel, hygiene, and 
other subjects suitable to the community. Music and a "social hour" usually follow 
the lecture. In its announcement for the season of 1910-11, the committee on lectures 
and social-center development says: "The program has this year, as in the past, the 
elements of recreation and entertainment. Every lecture is supplemented by music 
and fine pictures, while every concert is designed to delight the popular audience." 

X. PLAYGROUNDS. 

In only fiYQ cities were public playgrounds with supervised play 
maintained prior to the year 1900, namely, Boston, Philadelphia, 
Pittsburgh, New York City, and St. PauL^ Boston appears to have 
been the first city to provide supervised play, it having been estab- 
lished in that city as early as 1887, but it was in Philadelphia in 
1895 that the administration of public playgrounds was first under- 
taken by the school authorities of a large city. From these beginnings 
the movement has grown until, in 1910, 184 cities maintained play- 
grounds. 

The Playground Association of America, organized in Washing- 
ton, D. C, April 13, 1906, has given great impetus to the establish- 
ment of public play centers. Since its organization 98 cities have 
established public playgrounds — more than one-half the total num- 
ber reporting such activities in 1910. 

1 The Playground, 5 : 24-33, April, 1911. 



158 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

Playgrounds are of two types, (1) those on land contiguous to 
school buildmgs and (2) those located in small parks or lots apart 
from school buildings and having no connection with them. The 
playground propaganda contemplates the development of both 
types. Many schoolhouses in the cities are constructed on lots 
only large enough for the buildings alone, and have little or no space 
around them for play; but the present tendency is toward larger 
grounds. Some authorities urge at least as much as 30 square feet 
of space for each child. 

The playground not contiguous to a school building is usually 
located on land acquired for that purpose or in a park. In the 
better organized systems, competent persons for instruction and 
supervision are employed. 

The nature of the play varies, as might be expected. In New 
York City the boys play basket ball, indoor baseball, handball, 
dodge ball, and the like; while the girls play milder games and exer- 
cise in various forms of systematic drills and folk dances; swings, 
seesaws, and similar apparatus are installed; kindergartens are 
organized in connection with the playgrounds, and departments for 
mothers and their babies are provided; story-telling has recently 
been introduced. 

In Cincinnati, the supervisor conducted in 1909-10 a class for the 
training of teachers for playground work; the grounds are open in 
the afternoons in the spring and fall from 3 to 5.30 p. m., and during 
vacation from 8.30 a. m. to 7.30 p. m. on six days in the week; not 
all the time is devoted to play; for the boys are given instruction in 
manual work in wood, etc., and the girls in sewing, crocheting, box- 
work, clay modeling, and raphia. 

In Detroit, both boys and girls are divided into three classes, 
class A including all over 85 pounds in weight, class B including all 
between 70 and 85 pounds, and class C all under 70 pounds; system- 
atic exercise is given each class ; contests are held from time to time 
between two different centers ; in addition to the play, work in sewing, 
basketry, and the like is given. 

In Washington, Congress appropriates funds for grading grounds 
and buying equipment, and supervision is provided by private sub- 
scription ; centers are equipped with swings, seesaws, sand boxes, and 
the like; various kinds of organized games are played; some instruc- 
tion in handwork is given;- a new feature is the coordination of the 
playground with the school garden. 

As showing the recent development and present status of play- 
ground work, the following is quoted from the Yearbook of the 
Playground Association of America: 

Reports have been received from only 184 of the cities maintaining playgrounds. 
These 184 cities during the year ending November 1, 1910, maintained 1,244 play- 
grounds, employed 3,345 men and women exclusive of caretakers, and expended 



RECENT PROGRESS IN CITY SCHOOLS. 159 

$3,025,779.23. The reports failed to indicate whether 1,044 of the persons employed 
were men or women. Where the sex of the worker was given, 810 were men and 
1,491 women. Thirty-two cities employed 643 workers throughout the year. 

In 17 cities playgrounds were maintained by playground commissions, in 15 cities 
by school boards, in 28 cities by park boards, in 27 cities by playground associations, 
in 5 cities by private individuals, in 88 cities by other agencies or by several agencies 
combined. 

In 62 cities the playgrounds were supported by municipal funds, in 51 cities by 
private funds, in 59 cities by both municipal and private funds, in 1 city by municipal 
and county funds. In 11 cities the sources of support were not given. 

In 68 cities 219 playgrounds were open throughout the year. There were 874 play- 
grounds open only during July and August. In 3 cities some of the playgrounds were 
open nine months. In 5 cities some of the playgrounds were open April 1 to Decem- 
ber 1, in 5 from April 1 to November 1, in 4 from May 1 to November 1, in 6 from 
May 1 to October 1, in 2 from June 1 to December 1, and in 4 from June 1 to Novem- 
ber 1. There were 214 playgrounds in 60 cities open in evenings. 

Thirty-one cities reported that their schoolhouses were used as recreation centers; 
27 of these cities reported 201 such centers. 

The number of cities reporting special playground activities were as follows: 
Dramatics, 26; folk-dancing, 94; gardening, 43; industrial work, 76; libraries, 52; self- 
government, 40; singing, 72; story telling, 114; swimming, 69; wading, 51. 

According to the reports received, supervised playgrounds were first established in 
128 cities as follows: In 1 city in 1887, 1 in 1895, 1 in 1896, 1 in 1898, 1 in 1899, 7 in 
1900, 5 in 1901, 2 in 1902, 2 in 1903, 5 in 1904, 4 in 1905, 9 in 1906, 6 in 1907, 13 in 
1908, 35 in 1909, and 35 in 1910. 



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